Hold polls to 7 civic bodies in 2 months: HC

KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court, on Thursday, directed the West Bengal State Election Commission to start the process of conducting elections to seven municipal bodies, the boards of which have already completed their tenure. The division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the reason cited by the SEC for withholding elections to these seven civic bodies is illegal.
The court was hearing a writ petition by one Pranay Roy who prayed to the court to decide whether the SEC or the state government has primacy in announcing dates for elections to local bodies like corporations, municipalities and panchayats.He had also contended that it was wrong of the SEC to consult the state government before announcing the poll dates Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and other civic bodies in the state. While elections for the KMC will be held on Saturday, 91 municipalities across the state will go to the polls on April 25.
The bench, after hearing all sides, held that provisions under Article 243K of the Constitution that states: “Elections to the Panchayats The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor,” also hold true for polls to civic bodies.
While upholding the primacy of the SEC, the court observed that consultations with the state government before fixing dates for elections “can’t be called unconstitutional”. Thereby, the court did not agree with the petitioner’s contention that the dates announced are illegal. It was another question when the issue of elections to the seven municipalities of Asansol, Ranigunj, Kulti, Jamuria, Bally, Bidhannagar and Rajarhat-Gopalpur came up.
During hearing, the court had wanted to know from the state why it was not agreeing to elections to these civic bodies even after the tenures of their boards had expired. The state submitted that it was in the process of reconstituting these civic bodies. When an explanation was sought from the SEC by the court, it submitted that it is ready to hold elections there but the state government isn’t. The court wasn’t pleased with this contention.
“The reason that you cited for not having held elections to the seven civic bodies on time is illegal. The SEC must start preparing so that elections to these municipalities are held within two months of your receipt of this order,” the court observed.