Calcutta High Court Orders Election Commission to Ensure Security and Basic Amenities Ahead of West Bengal Assembly Elections

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has made a very important intervention in view of the apprehensions of violence and lawlessness in the run-up to the Assembly elections in West Bengal. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sujay Pal and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen has categorically asked the Election Commission to ensure iron-fisted security arrangements at every polling station in the ensuing 23rd and 29th April phases. The Court stressed that not only security, but providing drinking water and other basic amenities to voters standing in queues in scorching heat is a moral and constitutional obligation of the Commission. This order has increased the pressure on the Election Commission to conduct free and fair polls. The case was heard on a PIL filed by Bengal BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya, who sought deployment of central forces at every booth. However, the High Court took a balanced view of the matter and clarified that it was not only the right of the Election Commission to decide the political parties'strategy but also the ultimate decision of the petitioner.