New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, directed the governments of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand — the five states heading to Assembly polls in early 2027 — to transfer government officers and police personnel posted in their home districts, in identical letters sent to the Chief Secretaries and Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all five states, IANS reported via Nation Press. The Commission said compliance reports from each state's Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) must be submitted by 30 November 2026.
Source: Nation Press (IANS)
Under the Commission's standing policy, officers directly connected with the conduct of elections cannot be posted in their home districts or in places where they have served for a considerable period. Officers are also liable for transfer if they have completed three years in a district during the preceding four years, or are due to complete that period by the cut-off date — 31 March 2027 for Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand, and 31 May 2027 for Uttar Pradesh, NE Dispatch reported. The directive was issued by ECI Under Secretary Prafull Awasthi, according to NE Dispatch.
Source: NE Dispatch
Who is covered
The policy covers District Election Officers, Deputy District Election Officers, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and their assistants, nodal election officers and executive magistrates including Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Deputy and Joint Collectors, Tehsildars and Block Development Officers, as well as Divisional Commissioners and Municipal Commissioners, The Times of Bengal reported. On the police side it runs from Range ADGs, IGs and Commissioners of Police down to SSPs, SPs, Inspectors and Reserve Inspectors responsible for election-time security and deployment, and it also covers Prohibition and Excise officers of Sub-Inspector rank and above and Transport officers including Regional, District and Assistant Transport Officers.
Source: The Times of Bengal
Promotions to a higher post within the same district will count towards the three-year tenure, while service at state headquarters will not be included in the calculation even if the headquarters falls in the same revenue district, the reports said. District Election Officers, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers, police Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and officers of equivalent or higher rank also cannot be posted back to, or continue in, constituencies or districts where they served during the previous Assembly election or a subsequent by-election.
Source: NE Dispatch
Bars, exemptions and the roll-revision safeguard
Officials facing pending disciplinary proceedings or penalties, those previously held responsible for lapses during election work, officials facing pending criminal cases connected with their official duties, and officials serving on contract extensions or through re-employment are barred from election duties, with an exception for personnel specifically posted in the CEO's office, NE Dispatch reported. Headquarters staff and technical or essential-service personnel not directly connected with election administration — including doctors, engineers, teachers and school principals — are exempt from automatic transfer, as are Sector Officers and Zonal Magistrates, whose conduct will remain under scrutiny. Officers due to retire by the cut-off date will not be transferred out, but must be relieved of election-related responsibilities if they fall under the home-district or three-year rules.
Source: NE Dispatch
For officers engaged in the ongoing Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls, transfer orders can be implemented only after the final publication of the rolls, in consultation with the state CEO; any earlier transfer in exceptional circumstances needs the ECI's prior approval, The Times of Bengal reported. The Commission directed that transferred officers must hand over charge immediately without waiting for a substitute, stating: 'The DEO or concerned district officers shall ensure that officers who are transferred should immediately hand over their charge without waiting for their substitute.'
Source: Nation Press (IANS)
The ECI noted the Assembly terms it is working to: Manipur's term ends 13 March 2027, Goa's 14 March 2027, Punjab's 16 March 2027, Uttarakhand's 28 March 2027 and Uttar Pradesh's 22 May 2027, IANS reported via Hi India. For Punjab, the order is one of the first formal administrative steps in the 2027 election cycle, setting up a statewide reshuffle of the civil and police officers who will run the poll across the state's 117 Assembly constituencies.
Source: Hi India (IANS)