West Bengal panchayat election process and results would be subject to our orders: Calcutta High Court

Taking note of the rampant violence that broke out during and after the West Bengal panchayat elections, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday made it clear that the entire process of elections including the results of the polls would be subject to the court's further orders [Suvendu Adhikari vs State of West Bengal]..A division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya said that right from the day when the notification for the Panchayat elections were issued, the Court had been passing several orders and even closely monitoring the entire process. "As observed in our series of orders, we are monitoring the entire process, we make it clear that whatever has happened thus far, like voting, results etc is subject to the further orders this court will pass in the present petitions. We put to notice, the elected candidates that their elections are subject to our further orders," the bench made it clear.The Court was hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, seeking a probe by an independent agency into the rampant post-poll violence in the State.The bench ordered the State Election Commission (SEC), the State and also the Central government to file their responses to the petition, while also directing the West Bengal government to ensure all possible steps are taken to control the situation. "This court is surprised to note that even after results, the State is unable to control the violence. Various allegations have been made as to how liberty of citizens is being compromised and the Police have not been extending helping hand to the citizens, who are affected. The responsibility to ensure that there is no breach of peace lies with the State government and if it isn't in the position to safeguard it's citizens then it is a very serious matter to be taken note of," the bench observed..During the hearing the bench was informed that as many as 6,000 booths must undergo re-polling as there have been many electoral malpractices there. The petition highlighted that right from the inception of the election process, the entire electoral process has been compromised. "The electoral process was exactly opposite to what this Court had envisaged. Allegations of rape, murder and heinous crime have been made. Voters have been intimidated. On polling day ballots papers were looted, booths were captured, false voting took place. More shocking is the photograph of a man urinating on a ballot box making mockery of the democratic festival," the advocate pointed out.The advocate also played a video showing fake voting, violence inside the polling and counting booths despite the presence of police officers in the booths.Another petitioner, advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, claimed that she received over 250 emails from the general public, highlighting violence. "Now that the results have been declared, there were threats that the culture of not letting the loosing candidate to enter their homes. They attacked the loosing candidate's homes, shops. Women candidates were thrown out of the counting stations by pulling their hairs, by the policemen," Tibrewal argued. In one of the counting stations, Tibrewal alleged that the police threw out all opposition candidates and only Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Priya Pal was allowed inside. When she sensed her party was loosing, she poured a bottle of water in the ballot box..Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) Billwadal Bhattacharya submitted that there was "too much non-cooperation" by the SEC."We are making a detailed report and would submit it. Till date, we haven't got any information of sensitive booths. There is a waste of tax payers money. We air-lifted the personnel but we weren't aware of the deployment plan or the address of the sensitive booths," the DSG told the judges. After hearing the submissions, the bench ordered the SEC to respond to the allegations made by the DSG too. Further, the bench asked the SEC to clarify whether it has taken any decision on the representations made by the petitioners for re-polling in as many as 6,000 booths..The bench further directed the SEC to maintain the records of the CCTV footage of the polling and counting booths and also the ballot boxes and papers.Further a direction was issued to the State to restore and repair the educational institutions which were damaged during the violence. The matter would be taken up for hearing next on July 21.