SIR hearing summons to Amartya Sen, Shami part of routine verification: Bengal CEO

The office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has clarified that the SIR hearing summonses issued to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, cricketer Mohammed Shami and Bengali actor-turned-TMC MP Dev were part of a routine electoral verification process and not targeted actions.

The notices issued to these well-known personalities had sparked controversy. In a clarification issued on Wednesday, the CEO said scrutiny of the enumeration forms showed that the mandatory linkage columns had been left blank by the concerned electors.

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Such cases automatically call for a hearing, and the individuals were summoned along with several other similarly placed electors, as per the Election Commission's notifications.

‘Standard verification process followed’

"The Enumeration Form clearly shows that the linkage columns have been left blank by the elector," the state CEO's office said in a post on X.

Addressing the case of economist Amartya Sen, it said that his enumeration form, submitted as an overseas elector, was received by a family member, Shantabhanu Sen, who linked him with his mother, Amita Sen.

"Since the age difference between the elector and his mother was less than 15 years, logical discrepancy was flagged by the ERO Net Portal," the CEO's office said, adding that "notice was generated for Dr Amartya Sen in parity with the other discrepancy cases".

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Taking note of his advanced age, it said, "Since the elector is aged 85 years plus, ERO/AERO along with BLO have visited his residence and completed the formalities." The CEO's office also stated that the process followed in all cases was uniform and strictly in accordance with EC's rules, and that the issuance of notices did not involve any special or selective action.

(With agency inputs)