NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday took note of concerns over the workload of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) engaged in the Election Commission ’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Amid reports alleging excessive pressure and even suicides, the top court directed state governments to deploy additional staff to reduce the working hours of those already assigned election duties. A bench headed by CJI Surya Kant said that any individual seeking exemption from statutory election duties for valid reasons must have their request considered on a case-by-case basis by the competent authority and the State government, with a replacement arranged if needed. “The State government is obligated to provide the workforce if there is a need to increase the same,” the CJI observ

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