The Crossbill Team
The Election Commission of India has pushed back strongly against police complaints filed in connection with the deaths of two elderly voters who had received hearing notices under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, describing the cases against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal as a deliberate attempt to intimidate election officials.
In an unusually forceful response, the CEO of West Bengal took to X to denounce what he called a coordinated effort to browbeat the election machinery.
“No stone will be left unturned to unearth the conspiracy behind these serial and fabricated complaints, rule of law and truth shall prevail,” Agarwal wrote.
In a detailed thread tagging the Home Ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training, he added, “It has come to the notice of this office from various press releases that two complaints have been filed with the police, against the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal.”
He further said that “the allegations contained therein appear to be premeditated, unsubstantiated and a crude attempt to browbeat the officers tasked with discharging statutory duties in connection with SIR 2026.”
Rejecting what he called pressure tactics, the CEO said, “Such intimidatory tactics designed to threaten the election machinery into submission and derail the process are undoubtedly destined to fail.”
He added, “…The election machinery in the state is committed to function with grit and rectitude solely and wholly in public interest.”
Their position is backed by a provision in the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which grants immunity to the CEC and election commissioners for actions taken while in office. Clause 16 of the law, passed before Gyanesh Kumar’s appointment, bars any legal action against them for official decisions.
The controversy comes amid widespread anxiety surrounding the SIR exercise, which is being conducted in several states within a compressed time frame. In West Bengal and elsewhere, the stress on booth level officers and voters has reportedly taken a toll, with deaths being reported and deadlines for draft electoral rolls being repeatedly pushed back.
The two complaints were filed by families of elderly voters who died on Monday, December 29, after receiving hearing notices under the SIR process.
The Telegraph reported that in Purulia, Kanai Majhi alleged that his 82-year-old father, Durjan Majhi, was deeply distressed after receiving a notice that showed his name present in the physical 2002 SIR rolls but missing from the 2002 list uploaded on the Election Commission’s website. Durjan Majhi died by suicide just hours before his scheduled hearing.
In Howrah, the son of 64-year-old Jamat Ali Sekh alleged that the CEC and the state CEO had misused their powers by issuing a hearing notice to his father, a valid voter, subjecting him to mental duress that he said led to his death.
Amid the growing criticism, the Election Commission has been issuing clarifications and changing rules.
In a December 27 notification in West Bengal, it cited a “technical glitch” and said that 1.3 lakh voters whose names appear in the 2002 physical SIR rolls but are missing from the online database would not be required to appear for hearings.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, reports suggest that around 15,000 sadhus may be unable to name parents for tracing descent, and the ECI may grant them special concessions as well.
The repeated mid-course corrections have drawn sharp scrutiny. An editorial in The Hindu described the exercise as becoming a “decent into farce.”
It noted, “There are inconsistencies and anomalies in the draft electoral rolls, many of which have been flagged by The Hindu’s data-driven investigations. The over 6.5 crore deletions, according to provisional numbers, suggest methodological problems in and poor implementation of the exercise. In Uttar Pradesh, provisional figures show that 2.89 crore names have been deleted, which could possibly explain why the ECI has postponed publication of the draft roll to January 6. In Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which are relatively urbanised States with net in-migration of electors, 97 lakh and 73.7 lakh electors, respectively, have been taken off the draft rolls. That both States have since seen the furious inclusion of lakhs of names — added incomprehensibly as fresh additions in another procedural flaw — suggests that the enumeration phase was concluded haphazardly.”
In the latest adjustment, Uttar Pradesh’s draft rolls will now be released on January 6, with the final list expected later. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, who led a party delegation to meet the Election Commission on Wednesday, December 31, said their concerns were not addressed and accused the CEC of being confrontational.
“When we started talking, he (CEC) started losing his temper…I said you are nominated, I am elected…If he has the guts, he should release the footage,” Banerjee said.
In an unusually forceful response, the CEO of West Bengal took to X to denounce what he called a coordinated effort to browbeat the election machinery.
“No stone will be left unturned to unearth the conspiracy behind these serial and fabricated complaints, rule of law and truth shall prevail,” Agarwal wrote.
In a detailed thread tagging the Home Ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training, he added, “It has come to the notice of this office from various press releases that two complaints have been filed with the police, against the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal.”
He further said that “the allegations contained therein appear to be premeditated, unsubstantiated and a crude attempt to browbeat the officers tasked with discharging statutory duties in connection with SIR 2026.”
Rejecting what he called pressure tactics, the CEO said, “Such intimidatory tactics designed to threaten the election machinery into submission and derail the process are undoubtedly destined to fail.”
He added, “…The election machinery in the state is committed to function with grit and rectitude solely and wholly in public interest.”
According to a Times of India report, Election Commission officials said, “No FIR can be lodged against the CEC. The law is specific on this. A CEO too cannot be blamed for any criminal offence while discharging his duties. Any FIR drawn by police will have legal consequences.”Important Notice@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI @cabsect_india @DoPTGoI @PIBHomeAffairs pic.twitter.com/btrGku90hz
— CEO West Bengal (@CEOWestBengal) December 31, 2025
Their position is backed by a provision in the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which grants immunity to the CEC and election commissioners for actions taken while in office. Clause 16 of the law, passed before Gyanesh Kumar’s appointment, bars any legal action against them for official decisions.
The controversy comes amid widespread anxiety surrounding the SIR exercise, which is being conducted in several states within a compressed time frame. In West Bengal and elsewhere, the stress on booth level officers and voters has reportedly taken a toll, with deaths being reported and deadlines for draft electoral rolls being repeatedly pushed back.
The two complaints were filed by families of elderly voters who died on Monday, December 29, after receiving hearing notices under the SIR process.
The Telegraph reported that in Purulia, Kanai Majhi alleged that his 82-year-old father, Durjan Majhi, was deeply distressed after receiving a notice that showed his name present in the physical 2002 SIR rolls but missing from the 2002 list uploaded on the Election Commission’s website. Durjan Majhi died by suicide just hours before his scheduled hearing.
In Howrah, the son of 64-year-old Jamat Ali Sekh alleged that the CEC and the state CEO had misused their powers by issuing a hearing notice to his father, a valid voter, subjecting him to mental duress that he said led to his death.
Amid the growing criticism, the Election Commission has been issuing clarifications and changing rules.
In a December 27 notification in West Bengal, it cited a “technical glitch” and said that 1.3 lakh voters whose names appear in the 2002 physical SIR rolls but are missing from the online database would not be required to appear for hearings.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, reports suggest that around 15,000 sadhus may be unable to name parents for tracing descent, and the ECI may grant them special concessions as well.
The repeated mid-course corrections have drawn sharp scrutiny. An editorial in The Hindu described the exercise as becoming a “decent into farce.”
It noted, “There are inconsistencies and anomalies in the draft electoral rolls, many of which have been flagged by The Hindu’s data-driven investigations. The over 6.5 crore deletions, according to provisional numbers, suggest methodological problems in and poor implementation of the exercise. In Uttar Pradesh, provisional figures show that 2.89 crore names have been deleted, which could possibly explain why the ECI has postponed publication of the draft roll to January 6. In Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which are relatively urbanised States with net in-migration of electors, 97 lakh and 73.7 lakh electors, respectively, have been taken off the draft rolls. That both States have since seen the furious inclusion of lakhs of names — added incomprehensibly as fresh additions in another procedural flaw — suggests that the enumeration phase was concluded haphazardly.”
In the latest adjustment, Uttar Pradesh’s draft rolls will now be released on January 6, with the final list expected later. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, who led a party delegation to meet the Election Commission on Wednesday, December 31, said their concerns were not addressed and accused the CEC of being confrontational.
“When we started talking, he (CEC) started losing his temper…I said you are nominated, I am elected…If he has the guts, he should release the footage,” Banerjee said.
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