The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to interfere with the schedule of rural polls in West Bengal, but came down heavily on the State Election Commission (SEC) pointing out several irregularities in the notifications issued by the constitutional body for holding panachayat elections on May 14.
“It is expected that the SEC shall redeem itself upon taking note of the observations made herein before as a wake-up call,” an order by a Division Bench of Justices Biswnath Sommader and Arindam Mukherjee said.
Ritzu Ghosal, a Congress leader, has moved the court seeking cancellation of the SEC notification declaring that the panchayat polls will be held on a single day on May 14.
The Bench asked why the polls are scheduled on a single day when an earlier notification by the SEC had said that polls will be held on three days.
No clarification
“As such, the notification dated April 26, 2018, for holding election on a single date without providing necessary clarification, especially when three dates were announced in the previous notification dated March 31, 2018, has inevitably raised eyebrows and pointing of accusatory fingers at the commission, which could have been easily avoided,” the Division Bench order said.
Consultation with State
The court pointed out that Justice Subrata Talukdar in his April 20 order had asked the SEC to have consultation with the State and major stakeholders before announcing fresh date for polls to avoid litigation.
The Division Bench pointed out that the SEC “ought to have allayed the fears and concerns of all stakeholders and above all, the voters”. “Gaining their confidence, therefore, is the commission’s paramount duty, before, during and after the election process.”
Earlier in the day, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee said it would hear a petition on the security of rural polls on May 8, only after the matters pertaining to rural polls had been decided by the other Bench.
Justice Talukdar, in his order, had said that the May 14 polling date notified by the SEC should be treated “as only tentative”.
Thus the fate of rural polls depended on the order of the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice, which will take up the matter next week.
