Inform Court About Plans to Conduct Elections to All Civic Bodies: Cal HC to Bengal Govt, Poll Panel

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to inform it by next Monday about plans on conducting polls to all the municipal bodies. Elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation are scheduled to be held on December 19, even as the state BJP moved the high court seeking direction to the SEC and the state government to conduct polls to all municipalities on a single date.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj directed the SEC and the West Bengal government to inform it by next Monday, elaborating about the plan to hold elections to the municipal bodies where polls are due. The matter will be taken up for hearing again on Monday.

BJP's counsel had earlier argued that the schedule for the KMC election on December 19 was announced despite its petition before the high court, which was pending. The SEC had on November 25 announced the schedule for the polls on the basis of a state government notification declaring the date for the KMC election.

The BJP claimed it amounted to disregard of the proceedings before the court, in which hearing was first held on November 16. The saffron party has prayed that elections to more than 100 municipal bodies in the state, where they are due, be held on a single date for the sake of free and fair polls.

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