High Court stays troop pullout-- matter sent to regular bench

TT,Calcutta: Calcutta High Court has stayed till October 27 the Centre's decision to withdraw almost half of its troops from the Darjeeling hills, saying such a move should not be taken at a time the Bengal government has said it is trying to restore peace in the region.

The court pointed out that although the Centre had cited Assembly elections, till now polls to only Himachal Pradesh had been announced.

The vacation division bench sent the matter for disposal to the regular bench that hears public interest litigation. The high court will reopen after the Puja vacation on October 23..

The order followed a plea by the Bengal government alleging that although two petitions were pending before the high court, the Centre had decided to withdraw the forces that had been deployed on the orders of the court.

The Centre had initially said 10 of the 15 companies deployed in the hills would be withdrawn. Later, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the Centre had lowered the withdrawal figure to seven companies.

Justices Harish Tandon and Debangshu Basak observed in their order: "The state government, in its submission before this court, stated that it was trying to restore normality in the hills. So the central government should not withdraw the forces from the hills at this stage."

The court added: "The Centre had mentioned that the withdrawal of forces from the hills was necessary for their deployment in other states for Assembly elections. But during the submission, the central government counsel said that till now only the date for Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh has been declared. The Centre should file an affidavit stating the definite reasons for withdrawing forces from the hills by October 23 and the state would have to file its reply by October 26."

Mamata welcomed the court order, saying "we need the forces as we are determined to restore normality in the region".

She said the high court had earlier wanted the Centre to deploy more forces in the hills and by withdrawing the personnel without consulting the state, the Union government had violated the order.

Earlier in the day, director-general of police Surajit Kar Purkayastha said in Kalimpong that the strength of the police force would be increased in the hills.