The Supreme Court on Thursday asked all states and union territories to look into the possibility of providing more staff to the Election Commission (EC) so that the workload on booth-level officers (BLOs) can be reduced during the special revision of electoral rolls. The court said that many BLOs are facing long working hours and heavy pressure because the work has to be completed within a strict deadline.
The direction came while the court was hearing a plea filed by Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), the political party launched by actor Vijay. The party had asked the court to tell the EC not to take coercive action against BLOs under the Representation of the People Act for failing to finish time-bound tasks on time.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing TVK, told the court that BLOs, many of whom are school teachers or Anganwadi workers, are facing extreme stress. He said that in some cases there have even been deaths, and that this has created fear among BLOs. He also said that EC officials have been registering FIRs against BLOs when they fall behind on assignments. 
After listening to the arguments, the Chief Justice said that state governments should consider sending more staff to support the EC. He said that additional workers can help share the workload so that the pressure on BLOs is not so high.
