New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday stepped in to address the mounting strain on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, issuing a series of directions to States to reduce work hours, deploy additional staff and consider exemption requests on humanitarian grounds, Bar and Bench reported.

The intervention follows alarming reports highlighted before the Court, including cases of BLOs dying by suicide allegedly due to intense work pressure.

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing an application filed by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was im...