Supreme Court intervenes: Do not overburden BLOs; extra hours must stop, more staff should be appointed

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) should not be forced to work extra hours for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The court said more staff must be appointed to reduce the workload. This directive comes as part of the court’s major intervention to ease the pressure on BLOs in nine states and three Union Territories where the second phase of SIR is underway. The issue was raised when the lawyer representing actor Vijay’s TVK party pointed out the difficulties faced by BLOs in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court said that if a BLO submits a request with valid reasons seeking exemption from SIR duties, the government must consider it seriously and appoint someone else in their place. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that the government must address the hardships faced by staff.

The order comes at a time when cases of BLOs dying by suicide have increased in states, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The court noted that the Election Commission cannot complete the SIR process alone and depends on government employees. If additional staff are needed, states must provide them. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, opposed the plea, but the court did not accept his objections.

40 BLOs committed suicide

TVK’s counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed the court that many of the BLOs who died by suicide in Tamil Nadu were Anganwadi workers and teachers facing extreme work pressure. More than 40 BLOs have reportedly died. Employees were being warned that failure to complete tasks on time could lead to two years’ imprisonment. In Uttar Pradesh, 50 FIRs have been registered against BLOs. He also mentioned a case where someone died by suicide after being denied permission to attend their own wedding.

The Supreme Court said the demand for compensation for the families of deceased BLOs would be considered later, and families may approach the court if needed. Petitions were filed from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.