Akash Sarkar, a determined young man from Cooch Behar, West Bengal, faced a significant hurdle in his quest to join the Indian Army as an Agniveer (General Duty) in 2025. Despite successfully passing the written examination, physical tests, and medical evaluations, Sarkar’s journey was stalled by an expired police clearance certificate (PCC), a mandatory requirement for joining the force.
Sarkar had initially obtained a valid PCC in November 2025. However, the certificate expired before he could complete the necessary formalities for his appointment. In June 2026, when Sarkar sought to renew the PCC, the local police denied his application. The refusal was based on the fact that his and his father’s names had been removed from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal.
Confronted with this obstacle, Sarkar turned to the Calcutta High Court for assistance. He argued that the removal of his name from the electoral roll, pending an appeal before the SIR appellate tribunal in Cooch Behar, should not be grounds to deny him the PCC. Sarkar emphasized that he had no criminal record, and relied on precedents set by the Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India and Mostari Banu v. Election Commission of India. He contended that an electoral roll deletion does not equate to citizenship determination and thus should not impede the issuance of a PCC.
During the proceedings, the State informed the High Court that the police were unable to issue the PCC until the SIR appeal was resolved. However, they assured the court that the certificate would be promptly provided once the appeal was concluded.
Justice Bivas Pattanayak, presiding over the case, acknowledged the State’s position and on June 17, urged the SIR appellate tribunal to swiftly resolve the pending appeals of Sarkar and his father. Heeding the High Court’s directive, the tribunal reviewed Akash Sarkar’s appeal and reinstated both his and his father’s names on the electoral roll by June 25.
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Subsequent to this decisive action, the police issued the necessary PCC, thereby removing the final barrier to Sarkar’s dream of joining the Indian Army. With his place in the force no longer in jeopardy, Sarkar has successfully embarked on his career as an Agniveer.
