ECI suspends six officials over Agra MLC poll lapses

The Election Commission of India on Monday ordered the suspension of six supervisory officers over the Agra MLC poll lapses in the Agra Division Teachers' Constituency election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. The action followed irregularities during the original polling held on October 23 at three polling stations, which the Commission later declared void.

The Election Commission said the officers entrusted with supervisory duties had failed to ensure effective supervision and proper control within and around the polling stations. It described the dereliction of duty as serious and said it could not be condoned. The Commission has directed the authorities concerned to prepare charge sheets against the six officers and submit draft copies for its vetting within 10 days, before the charge sheets are formally issued.

Who was named in the Agra MLC poll lapses

At polling station 21, in the Kshetra Panchayat Office at Saiyan, the officers named are Sector Magistrate OP Chak, who is also the District Khadi and Village Industries Officer of Agra; Sector Police Officer Harisharan Singh, an Inspector with the Crime Branch; and Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar of Etmaddaula Police Station. At polling station 26, in the Kshetra Panchayat Office at Fatehabad, the officers named are Sector Magistrate Vishal Rathore, the Regional Forest Officer of Fatehabad; Sector Police Officer Purushottam Pal, an Additional Inspector at Fatehabad; and Sub-Inspector Sumit Tyagi of Ekta Police Station.

The Commission said the six officers were deployed at polling stations 21 and 26. The order for their immediate suspension went to the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, with a direction to submit a compliance report without delay. The inquiry behind the action rested on a report from the divisional commissioner and the returning officer for the Agra Division, and the Agra MLC poll lapses were set out in that report.

What the Agra MLC poll lapses led to

Beyond the six suspensions, the Election Commission ordered disciplinary proceedings against 21 other personnel deployed at the affected stations. They include two presiding officers, three polling officers, five head constables and 11 constables. The split shows the Commission treated the failure as a wider breakdown at the stations, not only as a fault of the six supervisory officers.

The Agra MLC poll lapses also led to a re-poll. Polling held on October 23 at three stations was declared void under Section 58A(2)(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and a re-poll was ordered at polling station 20 at the Tehsil Campus in Kheragarh, polling station 21 at Saiyan and polling station 26 at Fatehabad. The re-poll took place on Monday, the same day the suspensions were ordered.

The wider Agra MLC poll lapses context

The Agra Teachers' seat was one of 11 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where polling was held on October 23 for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. Five of those were graduates' constituencies and six were teachers' constituencies, with 152 candidates in the fray across the state. The Agra Division Teachers' Constituency for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council was among the teachers' seats where voting took place that day.

The Commission's order also shows how it wants the follow-up handled. Draft charge sheets must reach the Commission for vetting within 10 days of its letter, and formal charge sheets will follow only after that vetting. The re-poll at the three stations went ahead on Monday while the disciplinary process against the officers began, and the Agra MLC poll lapses will stay under scrutiny until that process is complete.