Under pressure from the Calcutta High Court, which is hearing petitions regarding the filing of nominations for panchayat elections in West Bengal, the State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday informed the court that it can extend the last date for filing nominations for panchayat polls in West Bengal by a day to June 16. This comes in the backdrop of violence spreading in rural areas over the filing of nominations, which left the SEC with little choice.
The division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya observed that just five days for the filing of nominations was too short a time, and suggested that the nomination period should be extended. If that is done, the polling date will also have to be postponed.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of media reports, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has announced that it will depute its Director-General (Investigations) as Special Human Rights Observer (SHRO) to gather first-hand information about recent incidents of violence. The NHRC’s SHRO has been directed to conduct an on-the-spot survey of West Bengal in consultation with the State Election Commission to identify sensitive constituencies where such violence is likely to occur in the run-up to the panchayat polls.
The Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police, West Bengal, to provide assistance to the Director-General of NHRC. It has also asked that law and order be maintained within the state during the entire process of Panchayat polls, starting from the filing of nomination papers until the results are declared. The notice was also issued to the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, to be informed about the measures proposed to prevent any kind of human rights violations within West Bengal during and after the Panchayat Elections.
On Thursday, the West Bengal Government had opposed the suggestion by the Calcutta High Court to allow online filing of nomination forms. “Let the Central Government or the Chief Election Commission do it first. Let the BJP Government be the first in this, and let them modify the rules to accept online nominations. We will follow them,” said Jayanta Mitra, the counsel for the State.
The SEC counsel, in a report submitted before the division bench, said the last date for filing nominations could be extended to June 16, stating that six days had been given for the purpose on previous occasions too.
The High Court had directed the SEC to file a report in the form of an affidavit on the petitions by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari for an extension of dates as well as the deployment of Central forces.
Adhikari’s counsel S Guru Krishnakumar told the court that the poll notification was issued within a day of the new commissioner Rajiva Sinha taking charge, questioning what kind of consultation could have taken place with the State Government in such a short time.
He said the rules provide that the State Government shall, in consultation with the SEC, decide the dates for the election. Submitting that there are over 73,000 seats where elections are to be held, he said only four hours each day have been provided for such a huge exercise.
State counsel Jayanta Mitra told the court that over 10,000 nominations have been filed so far. The Chief Justice said the confidence of the electorate should not be shaken, and they must be able to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner, and that the SEC has the power to ensure that.
On a prayer by the petitioners for the deployment of Central Forces for the polls, the bench asked whether the number of policemen in the State force was adequate.
The division bench also advised the commission to consider the deployment of Central armed forces personnel for the polling and counting. The division bench’s logic was that if the majority of state police personnel are deployed on poll security duty, there might be a shortage of security personnel to maintain regular law and order.
It also directed the commission not to use contractual State Government employees for poll-related duties or civic volunteers for poll security-related duties.
“Remember, you are a neutral agency. The people should have faith in you. The commission should be aware of its own authorities. Your role is extremely important,” observed Justice Sivagnanam.
