The Election Commission of India (ECI) has suspended seven West Bengal government officials serving as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) over lapses linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
The action was taken using powers under Section 13CC of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and comes into effect immediately.
The #ElectionCommission of #India has suspended seven officials in #WestBengal for alleged serious misconduct and dereliction of duty. More details 🔗https://t.co/Am8cigMOeU pic.twitter.com/LjSqj7Ifwa
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) February 17, 2026
In its order issued on Monday, 16th February, the Commission said the officials were being suspended for serious misconduct, dereliction of duty and misuse of statutory powers.
It has also directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary to ensure that disciplinary proceedings are started against all seven officers without delay. The Commission has asked to be kept informed about the progress of the action.
According to sources, during the scrutiny of cases that were kept for final publication in various Assembly constituencies, these officers cleared several applications despite the non-submission of prescribed documents.
There were also issues related to inconsistencies in mapping and questions over the eligibility of electors. Instead of correcting these problems, the officers approved the cases, which the Commission said amounted to misuse of their statutory authority.
The suspended officials include Sefaur Rahaman, Assistant Director in the Agriculture Department and AERO of Samserganj Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district; Nitish Das, Revenue Officer in Farakka and AERO for Farakka constituency; Dalia Ray Choudhury, Women Development Officer in Maynaguri and AERO of Maynaguri constituency; and Murshid Alam, Additional District Agriculture officer in Suti block and AERO for Suti constituency.
In Canning Purbo Assembly constituency, two AEROs have been suspended: Satyajit Das, Joint Block Development Officer (BDO), and Joydeep Kundu, FEO. The seventh officer is Debashis Biswas, Joint BDO and AERO of Debra Assembly constituency.
The Commission made it clear that the disciplinary proceedings must be initiated by the respective cadre controlling authorities at the earliest. The move is being seen as a strong message from the ECI that officials involved in the electoral roll revision process must strictly follow rules and verify documents properly before approving cases.
