WB government appeals in SC against HC verdict of Central forces for Local body polls
17 Jun 2023 14:30:00
Kolkata, Jun17: Two days after the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of central paramilitary forces in the state for the panchayat polls, the West Bengal State Election Commission and the state government have decided to move the Supreme Court against the directive.
The decision was taken after senior officials of the State Election Commission and the government attended a meeting with the state’s legal advisors on Friday, sources in the Commission said. The Calcutta High Court had on Thursday directed the poll panel to send a requisition to the Centre for the deployment of forces within 48 hours.
Hearing a PIL filed by BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, the Division Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar in its June 13 order had stated that the earmarking of sensitive areas and deployment of central forces has not been followed and no “appreciable steps” have been taken in this regard. After the SEC said that it may take “a couple of days” to identify sensitive areas from the law and order point of view, the court said: “…in the light of the submission on behalf of the Commission that it may take a couple of more days to do so, we are of the view that waiting any longer will cause more damage to the situation and will not aid in protecting the purity of the election process.” The court observed that there is a “slackness” on the part of the administration in identifying sensitive areas and added that the SEC did not take “any proactive and diligent steps” to implement its June 13 directions. It also warned the SEC of contempt action for failing to implement the previous order. “You are trying to make the order unworkable, that is very very clear. If you (SEC) are aggrieved, you may prefer an appeal. But if you think you will make the order unworkable, then we cannot stay silent,” the Chief Justice said during the hearing. “…this writ petition is disposed of by directing the State Election Commission to requisition the deployment of central forces for all districts in the State of West Bengal,” the order read. On June 7, former Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha was appointed as the new State Election Commissioner, and the next day he announced the Panchayat election. The election will be held in a single phase on July 8 with counting of votes scheduled for July 11. “The election for the two-tier (panchayat) in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, and for the three-tiers (panchayat) in the rest of West Bengal will be held in one phase on July 8,” Sinha had said at a press conference in Kolkata. The next day, the Calcutta High Court held an urgent hearing in two PILs moved by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari regarding the upcoming panchayat elections slated to be held on July 8. A division bench of Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya observed that prima facie, as pointed out by the petitioners, five days time provided for filing nomination papers is inadequate and asked the State Election Commission to reconsider the same.
Regarding the deployment of Central force, the bench said in the order, “It is not in dispute that a preliminary assessment has already been made by the State Election Commission and several districts having been earmarked as “sensitive districts”. “ It has been widely reported in the press that there have been several instances where the prospective candidates complained about the non-availability of nomination papers which resulted in violence being precipitated and other incidents. Considering the fact that the total number of seats for which the election has to be conducted is more than 75,000 and going by the past incidents wherein on more than 12 occasions the court had to intervene for directing the deployment of central forces or transferring the cases to the National Investigating Agency, we are of the view that the State Election Commission should and shall requisition the deployment of central forces to work in tandem with the police force of the State of West Bengal to ensure free and fair elections,” it stated.