The State Election Commission — allegedly working at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress — received yet another judicial rap on its knuckles with the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday questioning its very motive in asking for only 22 companies of paramilitary forces before asking it to requisition more than 825 companies — which was used for 2013 panchayat elections. The Court also took note of the fact that while in 2013 there were 17 districts presently Bengal has 22 districts excluding the metropolitan area of Kolkata. Taking serious note of the SEC’s apparently partisan conduct the Court even went on to the extent of telling the newly appointed Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha to quit his post if he was unable to discharge his duties impartially. Sinha considered close to Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee is a former Chief Secretary of the State. Taking cognizance of 8 deaths in 13 days in the run up to the July 8 panchayat elections the Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivaganam and Justice Uday Kumar questioned the sense behind requisitioning only 22 companies for the entire State when in 2013 each district got 35 companies of central forces saying the deployment would have to be done in 24 hours.
About 1.05 lakh State police personnel and 82,000 Central forces were requisitioned in 2013. The same Court had earlier this week upheld the High order on deployment of central forces saying “holding polls can’t be license for violence.”
In another order Bench of Justice Amrita Sinha ordered CBI investigation against a State officer for allegedly tampering with the documents submitted by two candidates --- Kashmira Bibi and Omja Bibi --- eventually disqualifying them from contesting the polls at Uluberia in Howrah district.