Key Takeaways
- The Calcutta High Court issued a rule against Bengal CEC Rajiva Sinha for alleged non‑compliance with a court order.
- A mandatory hearing is set for November 24, focusing on the deployment of Central Armed Forces to ensure a violence‑free poll.
- Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari filed the PIL that triggered the judicial scrutiny of the 2023 Panchayat elections.
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Friday issued rule against West Bengal Chief Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha.
He has been directed to appear on November 24 for alleged disobey of a court order concerning the Panchayat polls held on July 8, 2023, court sources said.
This is unprecedented in the history of the elections in the country. The division bench of Calcutta High Court, headed by Chief Justice Justice T. S. Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar while hearing a PIL filed by opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, has directed state chief election commissioner Rajiva Sinha to appear personally on November 24 for alleged violation of court order in regard to deployment of the Central Armed Forces to ensure a violence-free poll on July 8, Adhikari’s advocate Shreejib Chakraborty told reporters.
The next hearing would be held on November 24.
Advocate Chakraborty said the poll official will have to answer why he allegedly violated the judicial order regarding ensuring a violence-free Panchayat poll, which was marred by an unprecedented violence, that killed scores of lives.
Sinha was appointed as the SEC on June 7 and the panchayat elections were declared on June 8 for July 8. The opposition had consistently accused him of announcing the poll dates in a rush.
Thereafter when the Nandigram MLA and BJP leader had sought a court directive for deployment of Central Armed Forces to ensure free, fair and violence-free poll, the High Court ordered the Commission to deployed more forces than 82,000, which were used in the previous polling in 2018.
Though the state government had moved the Supreme Court against Calcutta High Court order, the Apex court. however, upheld the lower court order.
Sinha had also been criticized by Calcutta High Court and the political parties over the continuous incidents of violence during the nomination phase as well as during polling.
