The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that has been going on across the country, particularly in Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, has placed an inhuman workload and coercive pressure upon Block Level Officers and other electoral staff, resulting in them collapsing on duty, suffering cardiac issues and, in some instances, committing suicide, besides the possible mass deletion of legitimate voters under pressure, a complaint filed with the National Human Rights Commission read.
The complaint, submitted by a Mumbai-based advocate, portrays the SIR process as a moment of deep constitutional concern, as the combination of extreme field demands and the risk of wrongful deletions appears to be unfolding simultaneously, while frontline staff struggle to cope with unprecedented physical and psychological strain.
It draws upon verified media accounts from multiple States to illustrate a pattern in which school teachers, clerks and lower-rung government employees tasked with door-to-door verification have been collapsing while on duty, facing cardiac emergencies or, in some reported instances, resorting to suicide under the stress of the State-imposed schedule.
The filing cites cases from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala, where officials engaged in SIR work have died in circumstances linked to exhaustion, accidents or health deterioration, and it refers to reports indicating that at least 15 BLOs across six States have lost their lives within a period of 19 days, even as lakhs of voters have found their names missing from the rolls during the ongoing revision exercise.
It argues that these parallel developments reflect systemic administrative failures, as the burden placed on officers has escalated even as the integrity of the electoral rolls appears to be compromised.
Seeking suo motu cognisance under the Protection of Human Rights Act, the complaint urges the NHRC to obtain immediate reports from the Election Commission of India and State authorities on the deaths, medical emergencies, duty assignments and the overall scale of voter deletions arising during the revision process, while also pressing for interim safeguards.
It proposes the imposition of humane limits on working hours, the exemption of high-risk employees from physically strenuous field duties, the withdrawal of coercive measures such as suspension threats, and the provision of medical and psychological support for personnel engaged in SIR-related tasks.
The petition further calls for compensation to families of officials who have died or suffered health crises, along with a recalibration of the SIR timeline, an independent audit of all deletions and modifications, and the framing of national guidelines to ensure that future revision exercises conform to human rights standards.
It contends that the present design and enforcement of SIR reflect systemic negligence in preventing harm to frontline workers, and that the combination of coercive administrative practices and potential disenfranchisement amounts to a violation of fundamental rights relating to life, dignity and democratic participation, thereby warranting urgent intervention.