Kolkata: Hearing will continue on Tuesday in the Calcutta High Court on the standoff between West Bengal government and the state Election Commission (EC) over panchayat elections. On Monday, the WB government filed a fresh appeal to a higher bench against the old judgement of the Single bench in favour of the EC.
The court directed the state poll panel to make a proper assessment over need for security for the panchayat polls. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi, admitting an appeal by the state challenging a trial court order, directed the SEC to identify sensitive, less-sensitive and non-sensitive booths.
The bench also directed the SEC to look at the 2003 and 2008 panchayat elections, as the state submitted that these were held without central forces. To a suggestion of the court, advocate general Bimal Chatterjee submitted that the state was amenable to holding elections in three phases as prayed for by the SEC and directed by the trial court on Friday.
Chatterjee submitted that the state could provide 400 observers as sought by the commission, if it was agreeable to accepting officers of the rank of assistant secretaries also. The SEC had sought names of 400 officers from the IAS and WBCS (Executive) cadre for using them as its observers for the rural polls in the state.
Chatterjee said that the SEC had asked for officers of ranks not less than deputy secretaries. The AG submitted that the contentious issue was central armed police forces, claiming that the SEC had not given any assessment or reasoning for demanding 800 companies of central armed forces.
The AG submitted that in 2003 or 2008 panchayat polls, there was no demand for central forces by the commission, but has sought the same this time without stating what situation has been created to seek 800 companies.
(With Additional Inputs From PTI)
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