Setback For Suvendu Adhikari, Calcutta High Court Refuses To Intervene In Bengal Panchayat Election Process

A division bench made up of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj ruled that any intervention at this point in the PIL filed by Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, may result in the postponement of the panchayat elections in the state.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday declined to interfere with West Bengal's panchayat election process while finding that Suvendu Adhikari's argument regarding the seat reservation standards applied for the upcoming local government elections in 2023 has merit. A division bench made up of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj ruled that any intervention at this point in the PIL filed by Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, may result in the postponement of the panchayat elections in the state. 

The court held that Adhikari's complaint regarding the application of various factors for the reservation of seats in various categories had merit while declining to get involved in the West Bengal panchayat elections at this time. The court deferred to the State Election Commission's judgement on the concerns made by the BJP MLA regarding such seat reservations. By the middle of this year, the state's panchayat polls are most likely to take place. 

Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state legislature, brought a public interest lawsuit against the decision to count the OBC community in the state before the High Court. He claimed that while other Backward Classes (OBCs) were not listed in 2011, Schedule Castes and Tribes were. According to the commission, they are conducting this computation door to door. Adhikari criticised that procedure as well. On Tuesday, Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj's division court heard the Public Interest Litigation of Adhikari. The bench declared, "For the time being, the High Court will not get involved in election issues. The State Election Commission will make all judgements pertaining to this."

Adhikari brought a case in the Calcutta High Court before the panchayat elections on two major grounds, in relation to counting the OBC group. The alternative involved deployment of central troops on the voting day. On Tuesday, the Chief Justice's division bench stated that Adhikari could submit a distinct case regarding the central forces if he so desired. The High Court won't, however, put up any obstacles at this time.