Poll duty: ECI issues directive on officers’ transfers

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the chief electoral officer (CEO), Punjab, to ensure that officers likely to be put on election duty should not serve in their home districts and those who have completed three years in that district during the past four years or would be completing three years on or before March 31, 2012, should be transferred immediately.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the chief electoral officer (CEO), Punjab, to ensure that officers likely to be put on election duty should not serve in their home districts and those who have completed three years in that district during the past four years or would be completing three years on or before March 31, 2012, should be transferred immediately.

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The ECI said district election officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers would be covered under these instructions, besides other district-level officers such as additional district magistrates, deputy collectors, sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars, block development officers or any other officer proposed to be used for poll work.

As far as officers in the police department are concerned, these instructions would be applicable to IGs, DIGs, commandants of state armed police, SSPs, SPs, additional SPs, sub-divisional heads of police, inspectors, sub-inspectors, sergeant majors or equivalent rank who are likely to be put on election duty. “The ECI also desired that officers or officials against whom the commission has recommended disciplinary action or who have been charged with any lapses in election-related work shall not be assigned poll duty,” the ECI said, adding that no officer or official, against whom a criminal case is pending in any court of law, be associated with election work or election-related duty.

The ECI said any officer who was due to retire within the coming six months would be exempted from the purview of these directions.