Panchayat Elections: Supreme Court Upholds Calcutta High Court Order To Deploy Central Forces In Bengal

The Calcutta high court had on June 15 directed the SEC to requisition and deploy central forces across West Bengal for the panchayat elections within 48 hours.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court order directing the State Election Commission (SEC) to requisition and deploy central forces across West Bengal for the upcoming panchayat elections. A vacation bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Manoj Misra, while dismissing the petition, said the fact remains that the tenor of the high court order is ultimately to ensure free and fair elections in the state since it is conducting local body polls on a single day.

The Supreme Court passed this order while responding to a plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's order regarding the deployment of central forces in panchayat elections. 

"No interference is needed in the orders of the high court's order. Central forces can be deployed in the state. There is no wrong in the high court's order of deployment of central forces in the panchayat elections," the top court said.

The bench in its order said, "The fact remains that the tenor of the order of the High Court is ultimately to ensure that a free and fair election is conducted for the entire State of West Bengal since State is conducting the election for local bodies on a single day and having regard to the volume of booths which are being set up. We find that the order of the HC does not call for any interference. SLP stands dismissed."

The high court had on June 15 directed the SEC to requisition and deploy central forces across West Bengal for the panchayat elections within 48 hours. The court had noted that no appreciable steps had been taken ever since it passed an order on June 13 to deploy central forces in sensitive areas for the poll process.

The high court had directed the SEC to requisition central forces for deployment in all the districts of the state that were rocked by violence during the filing of nominations for the July 8 panchayat elections.

Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress said that it is their primary responsibility to conduct fair elections and they will be providing adequate forces for that. Multiple incidents of violence and arson have been reported in the state during the nomination process of the panchayat poll and nine people have died so far.