THE SUPREME COURT on Thursday stepped in to address growing concerns over the stress caused by the increased workload being borne by Booth Level Officers (‘BLOs’) engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (‘SIR’) of electoral rolls in addition to their regular duties, directing the concerned State governments to deploy additional manpower to ease their work pressure.
A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed all concerned State governments to “depute additional staff” so that the long working hours spent by BLOs on SIR duties can be reduced. The Court also said that individual requests for exemption from the SIR duty, if backed by specific reasons, must be examined sympathetically and dealt with on a case-to-case basis.
The Bench clarified that States are obligated to provide the required workforce to the Election Commission of India (‘ECI’) whenever the SIR exercise demands additional personnel.
The Court issued three directions - States must deploy extra staff so that existing BLOs are not overburdened; Requests for exemption owing to specific reasons must be considered on case-to-case basis, and if needed, the person should be replaced; and any BLO who still feels aggrieved may approach the Court for appropriate relief.
These directions came while the Bench was hearing an application filed by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (‘TVK’), which flagged serious distress among BLOs—including instances of suicide allegedly linked to the pressure of meeting SIR deadlines.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing TVK, told the Court:
“We have details of 35 to 40 BLOs who have committed suicide. These are Anganwadi workers and teachers. They are being issued Section 32 notices under the Representation of the People Act, threatening two years’ imprisonment if deadlines are missed. In Uttar Pradesh alone, 50 FIRs have been filed. There was even a young man who wanted leave to attend his wedding. He was refused, and he ended his life. This is a human story.”
Opposing the plea, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the ECI, said the application was “absolutely unfair” and should not be entertained.
The Bench, however, noted the substance of the concerns raised. It recorded that the applicant was highlighting situations where employees, due to health issues or family difficulties, were unable to perform the duties assigned during SIR, and that criminal action had been initiated in some instances.
The Court emphasised that while BLOs are deputed by State Election Commissions to assist the ECI in performing statutory duties, any hardship faced by them must be mitigated by the State governments.
The stress on account of time-bound SIR work pressure in addition to normal duties as teachers and the Anganwadi workers, is a part of wider issues raised in the petitions questioning various aspects of the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and other States, including challenges to its legality and implementation.
The Court emphasised that while BLOs are deputed by State Election Commissions to assist the ECI in performing statutory duties, any hardship faced by them must be mitigated by the State governments.
The stress on account of time-bound SIR work pressure in addition to normal duties as teachers and the Anganwadi workers, is a part of wider issues raised in the petitions questioning various aspects of the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and other States, including challenges to its legality and implementation.
