West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala has issued a formal directive to all departmental secretaries and heads of offices, instructing them to prevent the removal, damage, or unauthorised removal of any important files or papers from government offices. The order, issued today as vote counting for the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections is underway, also prohibits unauthorised copying or scanning of documents and holds senior officials personally accountable for compliance.
The order states: “All Departmental Secretaries and Head of Offices are requested to ensure that no important paper or any file is removed/damaged or otherwise taken out from the offices. No unauthorised copying/scanning shall be permitted. Further, all files/important papers/communication shall be properly accounted for. The Head of Departments and Departmental Secretaries shall personally ensure that this is followed in letter and spirit. Personal responsibility shall be fixed for any instance of deviation.”
West Bengal Chief Secretary issues order to all Department secretaries and Head of Offices to ensure that no important paper or file is removed or dmamaged or taken out from the offices pic.twitter.com/PP663SRzXo
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2026
Copies of the order have been forwarded to additional chief secretaries/principal secretaries, the Director General and Inspector General of Police, all divisional commissioners, the Commissioner of Kolkata Police, all district magistrates, and the Secretary to the Governor for information.
The directive comes as results are being counted at 77 centres across the state following the two-phase assembly polls held on 23 and 29 April 2026. According to the latest trends released by the Election Commission of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has surged ahead dramatically and crossed the majority mark of 148 seats. The BJP is leading or has won in 203 constituencies, while the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) is trailing far behind with leads or wins 84 seats, a steep fall from the 215 seats it secured in the 2021 elections.
This marks a historic shift in West Bengal politics. The BJP, under leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, is set to form the state government for the first time, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Dushyant Nariala, a 1993-batch IAS officer, was appointed Chief Secretary by the Election Commission in March 2026 as part of a major pre-poll administrative reshuffle to ensure neutrality during the elections. The current order is a standard precautionary step to protect official records during a sensitive transition period.
