Economist Amartya Sen not required to attend SIR hearing over spelling error, says ECI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, announced that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who was reportedly summoned by the ECI due to inconsistencies in the spelling of his name in the voter list, is not required to attend the hearing.

An official said the correction in the economist’s case will be handled administratively at the local level as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have the power to correct minor errors, including spelling errors in voters’ names.

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee claimed earlier in the day that Mr. Sen was served with an SIR hearing notice by the EC. However, one of Mr Sen’s family members said: PTI They stated that they have not yet received any notice of hearing from the commission.

“The spelling confusion is purely technical and has nothing to do with voter eligibility. Our officials have been instructed to resolve such issues at the administrative level to avoid unnecessary controversies,” the official said.

The commission emphasized that minor errors in voter names did not affect the hearing process or voter rights, and officials were warned to avoid creating public disagreement on such technical details.

Meanwhile, the poll agency has issued strict instructions to ensure that all notifications regarding alleged discrepancies or logical inconsistencies in the voter list are immediately downloaded and delivered to the voters concerned within the next four to five days, the official said, adding that no mistake will be tolerated in this mission.

Following the directive, the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) issued instructions to all District Electoral Officers, seeking daily reports on the number of logical discrepancy notices submitted voter-wise.

Earlier, in the first phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, around 1.36 crore voters were found to have data discrepancies.

After subsequent verification and corrections, this number came down to around 59 lakh voters under the logical inconsistency category.

Another source in the poll house said that the Commission will now hold a meeting with Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories.

“The emergency meeting called by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on January 8 at 10 am,” he said.

Sources said the discussion is likely to focus on the ongoing SIR process, survey preparation and various law and order issues.