With a “fed up” Calcutta High Court expressing disgust at the politico-legal imbroglio over the panchayat elections, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and Bengal Government asking them to make their stands clear on the availability of the “adequate” number of security forces.
The apex court acted on a petition for adequate security forces filed by the State Election Commission and directed the parties concerned to make their respective submissions on Friday, the next day of hearing.
“Whatever we have told the Calcutta High Court about our maximum capability for forces, we will tell the Supreme Court,” the Bengal Panchayat Minister who was taken off guard by the Commission move told the media later.
Curiously, while the State counsels termed the SEC’s “sudden decision” to move the Supreme Court even when the hearing was on in Calcutta High Court was “unfortunate, indecorous and disgraceful”, High Court Chief Justice Arun Mishra and his co-judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi felt “relieved” as they were “fed up with the case”.
Chief Justice Mishra said, “I am fed up with the case. The entire country is looking at the case and I am happy that it has gone to the Supreme Court. At least there will be a verdict now. I am happy now.”
The politically high-profile case got the two sides to rail against each other in the Calcutta High Court even as Government Pleader Ashok Banerjee called the Commission move a “disgrace as they don’t have a courtesy even to inform the court or the parties before moving the Supreme Court.
While he branded the SEC as shirker that was not interested in holding the elections, rival counsel laxmichand Bihani said he did not know “whether going to the Supreme Court was a disgrace” and whether such comments could itself invite contempt.
Earlier, similar situations were witnessed in the apex court where Commission advocate Meenakshi Arora told the Bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik that despite the fact that High Court had asked the Government to arrange for adequate forces the State was dragging its feet in ensuring the same.
The State had about 55,000 forces while as per the High Court order SEC needed 1.55 lakh forces to conduct the polls. The State was also hauled over the coal by the Commission counsel for advocating first asking for 2-phase poll and then making it 3-phase affair with nine districts going to elections on July 2.
“If it knew that it would not be possible to bring in enough forces then why the Government did not take the Commission advice to conduct a 5-phase pollIJ” the SEC wondered.
The Supreme Court sent notices to the Commission, Bengal Chief Secretary and Panchayat Secretary. The apex court reportedly wondered as to what was happening in Bengal asking the State counsel why if the Government was interested in conducting the elections it was not giving adequate forces.
The fate of panchayat elections have been hanging in uncertainty over the past few months partly on account of a ego-fight between the State Election Commission which had been claiming supremacy over affairs during the elections basing its claim on relevant Article of the Constitution and partly because of reported fear of suffering reverses in the ruling Trinamool Congress circles particularly in the wake of recent developments including Saradha scam and rising incidents of rapes.
Currently the situation was such that with the polls barely a week away the Commission neither had any troop at its disposal nor required number of vehicles or for that matter the po0lling staff, officials said.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress and Opposition Marxists blamed each other for the electoral impasse. “The Opposition has lost the ground beneath its feat and is afraid of facing the electorate so they are trying to evade the elections,” Mamata Banerjee said, adding her Government was trying to hold elections for the past two years but for the conspiracy hatched by the Opposition.