A division bench of the Calcutta High Court recently questioned the responsibility of the West Bengal government, in addition to the Election Commission of India (ECI), in guaranteeing fair, violence-free elections in the state. This query arose during a hearing of a public interest litigation initiated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit president and Rajya Sabha member, Samik Bhattacharya. The litigation sought the court’s intervention to secure 100% booth-level security for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Advocate General Kishor Datta, representing the state government, contended that the ECI, as an autonomous entity, should not unquestioningly adhere to the Union government’s directives. He pointed out that the petitioner, being the state president of the ruling party at the Centre and the principal opposition party in West Bengal, might suggest an alignment with the Union government in filing the PIL.
The division bench further probed whether it was not the joint responsibility of the state government and the ECI to ensure the conduct of impartial, peaceful elections in West Bengal. Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty objected to the insinuation made by the Advocate General that the PIL was orchestrated by a political party leader in collaboration with both the ECI and the Union government. The matter is set for the next hearing on March 20.
West Bengal is slated to hold elections in two phases on April 23 and April 29, covering 152 and 142 Assembly constituencies respectively.
