Continuing its commitment to ensure a level playing field in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers holding leadership positions as District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) in four states: Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha, and West Bengal.
The positions of DM and SP in districts are typically reserved for officers from the Indian Administrative and Indian Police Service, respectively. This move by the Commission is aimed at upholding fairness and maintaining the integrity of the electoral process, a sentiment strongly emphasized by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
The decision to issue transfer orders was made during a meeting chaired by CEC Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
The affected officers include SPs from Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts in Gujarat, SSPs from Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural, and Malerkotla districts in Punjab, DM of Dhenkanal, and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural in Odisha, as well as DMs from Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman, and Birbhum districts in West Bengal.
Additionally, the Commission has directed the transfer of SSP Bathinda in Punjab and SP Sonitpur in Assam due to their familial association with elected political representatives. These transfers are preemptive measures to ensure the administration’s impartiality and avoid any perception of bias.
As per the directive, state governments have been instructed to promptly transfer non-cadre officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP, effective immediately, and submit a compliance report to the Commission.
Earlier, on March 18, the Election Commission took decisive action to uphold the principles of free, fair, and transparent elections by ordering the removal of Home Secretaries in six states: Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
