The Election Commission of India has ordered the immediate suspension of six officers and disciplinary proceedings against 21 other personnel over supervisory lapses during polling in two booths for the Agra Division Teachers’ constituency of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
The action follows repolling held on Monday at polling stations 21 in Saiyan and 26 in Fatehabad. In a letter dated October 26 to Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa, ECI secretary Suman Kumar Das said officers responsible for supervision had failed to ensure effective oversight and maintain proper control within and around the polling stations.
The six officers facing suspension include two sector magistrates, two inspectors and two sub-inspectors. At polling station 21 in Saiyan, the ECI named sector magistrate OP Chak, sector police officer Inspector Hariharan Singh and sub-inspector Sandeep Kumar. At polling station 26 in Fatehabad, sector magistrate Vishal Rathore, Inspector Purushottam Pal and sub-inspector Sumit Tyagi were ordered to be suspended.
The commission described the supervisory lapses as serious dereliction of duty that could not be condoned. It directed the authorities to issue chargesheets against all six officers and submit draft chargesheets to the ECI for vetting within 10 days.
The disciplinary action extends beyond the supervisory officers. Proceedings have also been ordered against five presiding officers, three polling officers, five head constables and 11 constables deployed at the two polling stations. The proceedings are to be initiated in accordance with the findings of an inquiry conducted by the divisional commissioner.
The episode places responsibility for polling-station management across multiple levels of the election administration under scrutiny. Sector magistrates and sector police officers are assigned supervisory roles around polling locations, while presiding and polling officers manage electoral procedures inside the stations. The ECI’s order links the reported lapses to failures in both supervisory control and polling-station operations.
The repolling at the two stations was held on Monday, although the supplied report does not specify the original polling-day irregularities or the number of voters affected. It also does not state whether the commission has announced any further changes to the counting or result schedule for the constituency.
The ECI has sought an immediate compliance report from the Uttar Pradesh authorities. The next formal milestone is the preparation and forwarding of draft chargesheets for the six suspended officers within the 10-day period set by the commission.
