In a major setback to ruling Trinamool Congress, the Calcutta High Court on Friday delivered a historic order which would effectively push back the poll dates by weeks if not challenged in a superior court.
Throwing out the Trinamool Congress’ contention questioning the propriety of judicial intervention once the election process had started the Bench of Justice S Taluqdar extended the deadline for submission of nominations.
The Judge quashed an SEC order which had on April 10 recalled its own April 9 circular extending the date of filing nomination by a day evidently after getting a Supreme Court rap on its knuckles.
The Opposition parties had earlier knocked the Apex Court doors following rampant violence at nomination stage. The top Court, apart from redirecting the matter to High Court also asked the parties to register their complaints with the poll panel following which the SEC extended the deadline by a day.
In its Friday order, the High Court said the SEC in consultation with the State Government would now decide the new extended date for nomination.
The order when complied would push back the dates to April 13 or beyond frustrating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s declared plans to get the poll process over before the commencement of Ramzan.
“It’s a historic verdict. The court has come forward to help the democratic process that is in peril in Bengal.
It is a victory for the people who did not get any help from the police to file nomination,” said Pratap Banerjee, general secretary of the Bengal unit of BJP.
CPI(M)’s Rabin Deb said his party was satisfied with the order but wondered whether violence could be curbed under present circumstances. “There can be no proper election conducted under this Government.”
Congress MP and PCC president Adhir Chowdhury also feared large-scale violence on the extended date of nomination filing. “like they did earlier, they would unleash their armed goons and the police on the Opposition candidates to stop them from filing nominations,” he said adding his petition seeking central forces would be heard two weeks later.
At least 10 people were killed and scores other including two former MPs — of the status of nine-time CPI(M) parliamentarian Basudeb Acharya and Dr. RC Dom, BJP State secretary Raju Banerjee — and two Congress MlAs were grievously injured when attacked by armed TMC goons.
The SEC forward roll on April 10 — recalling its order extending deadline for nomination — was allegedly extracted by a group of three senior Trinamool Ministers who broke all traditions to descend at SEC AK Singh’s residence in early morning and literally coerced him into recalling his order passed the earlier evening, poll panel sources later said.
The flip-flop forced the Opposition BJP, left and the Congress to move the Court seeking among other things extension of deadline for nomination.
Rural Bengal was set to vote for the three-tier elections for Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad on May 1, 3 and 5. Results were to be declared by May 8.
The term of the outgoing Panchayat boards end in the month of August making the opposition wonder, why the Chief Minister manipulated the Commission to bring forward the dates by nearly three months.
About 5.08 crore people or 74 per cent of the electors will vote in the polls to be staged across 78,000 booths and manned by about 46,000 armed policemen.