Using its powers under Section 13CC of the RP Act 1950, the ECI directed the immediate suspension of seven AEROs and ordered immediate disciplinary proceedings against them by the cadre controlling authority. The departmental action have to be completed by the state within six months in consultation with ECI.
“From the day SIR started, our message to them (AEROs and EROs) was to follow rules and regulations. I urge all to work based on documents. The AEROs and EROs, who are experienced officers, should review the documents again. There is time till February 21. They must be aware that there are digital footprints. All rules and regulations should be followed by AEROs and EROs. There is multiple checking at various levels, at the level of DEOs, our offices and ECI. All should be done as per the law,” West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said.
The work done by these seven AEROs will be reviewed again, a top ECI official said.
The ECI had put Satyajit Das, Joint BDO and Joydeep Kundu, FEO — both AEROs of 139-Canning Purbo assembly constituency — under suspension. Debashis Biswas, Joint BDO and AERO of 229-Debra assembly constituency in Paschim Medinipur district, Sefaur Rahaman, assistant director of agriculture department in 56-Samserganj assembly constituency in Murshidabad; Sk Murshid Alam, ADA, Suti Block & AERO for 57-Suti assembly constituency in Murshidabad have also been suspended. Two others — Nitish Das, revenue officer, Farakka and AERO for 55-Farakka constituency in Murshidabad and Dalia Ray Choudhury, women development officer, Maynaguri Block, 16-Maynaguri assembly– have also been suspended.
In addition to being removed as AEROs, these suspended officials are also likely to be removed from their respective posts held by them in the West Bengal government, a top EC official said.
All these AEROs had uploaded and verified documents, which were not in the ECI’s designated list of 13 documents, despite being cautioned by the Rolls Observers. A top EC official stated that a Supreme Court judgement in 2000 has addressed the issue of ECI’s power to order suspensions directly.
The maximum punishment for departmental proceedings may be compulsory retirement; compulsory retirement without any employment opportunity at any government service or dismissal of service.
