Central forces for Bengal panchayat elections: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today upheld the June 13 order of the Calcutta High Court ordering deployment of Central forces across Bengal for the panchayat elections on July 8. “Holding elections cannot be a license for violence and High Court has seen earlier instances of violence. Elections cannot be accompanied by violence,” it observed.
Holding that the order of the Calcutta High Court does not call for any interference and that elections cannot be a license for violence, the Supreme Court today ordered the deployment of Central forces across Bengal for the panchayat elections.
Thus, the apex court upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court, against which both the state government and state election commission (SEC) had filed separate appeals.
A vacation bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Manoj Misra delivered the order.
It said that the High Court “has seen earlier instances of violence” and hence it ordered Central forces, since “holding elections cannot be a license for violence”.
“If persons are not able to file their nominations and if they are finished off while they are going to file it then where is the free and fair election?” the court demanded.
During the Supreme Court hearing, the advocate appearing for the SEC said the body had, as of now, identified 189 poll booths as sensitive.
The Calcutta High Court had, on June 13, ordered the immediate deployment of Central forces across the state, installation of CCTV cameras at every booth and corner of the counting centres, and counting of votes for all three tiers of the panchayats simultaneously and at the same venue.
The two-tier panchayat election in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the three-tier panchayat election in the rest of Bengal will be held in one phase on July 8 and the counting on July 11.
