WB polls: Plea filed in HC claiming ECI violation of court orders
A petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, claiming that its earlier order on action against “troublemakers” in view of the West Bengal assembly polls was not being adhered to by the Election Commission.
The High Court had on April 22 stayed an order of the commission’s police observer, who termed certain citizens as “troublemakers” and directed the authorities concerned to take action against them.
In a plea before a division bench presided by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed that the commission prepared a fresh list of around 350 people for action against them.
Banerjee, also a senior lawyer, alleged that despite a stay order of the High Court till June 30, the poll panel was not adhering to it.
The division bench, also comprising Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, granted permission to Banerjee’s client to file a contempt petition on a verbal prayer by him.
Acting on a PIL claiming that people’s fundamental right to liberty would be affected by the EC order, the division bench had held that the police observer “erred in issuing a blanket direction by treating certain citizens as troublemakers”.
The court had, however, made it clear that the order would not come in the way of the civil/police authorities to proceed against any person, who commits
an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Representation of People’s Act, 1951 or any other penal law.
