Monday hearing on election pause

TT, Calcutta: A Calcutta High Court division bench will on Monday hear separate appeals by the state election commission, the Bengal government and Trinamul against a single bench's order stalling the panchayat poll process.

As a result of the appeals filed on Friday, matters being handled by the single bench of Justice Subrata Talukdar are likely to be referred to the division bench of Justice Biswanath Sommader and Justice Arindam Mukherjee.

Halting the poll process through an interim order on Thursday, Justice Talukdar had asked the election commission to explain on Monday what it had done about Opposition complaints that its nominees were being prevented from filing nominations.

On Friday, the commission, the government and Trinamul urged the division bench to hear their appeals on an "urgent basis". Justice Somadder, the senior judge on the bench, asked the parties to file their appeals right away.

Senior lawyers said the pleas against Justice Talukdar's order would affect the poll process further, with the possibility of the panchayat polls being deferred.

"The poll process has already been delayed. The division bench will hear the case again and it will take more time. So there is every possibility of the election dates being deferred," said a senior lawyer not connected with the case.

"Justice Talukdar has violated the Constitution by issuing the order and interfering in the poll panel's domain," said a Trinamul source.

Trinamul vice-president and lawyer Kalyan Banerjee had urged the division bench to hear his appeal on Friday itself. Justice Somadder then asked Banerjee: "Why is your party moving the appeal? The (single) bench had issued the order against the state election commission. The commission can move the appeal."

The secretary of the commission, Nilanjan Sandilya, was present in court then and informed the judges that the poll panel also wanted to challenge Justice Talukdar's order.

May Day appeal

Justice Talukdar has agreed to hear on Monday a plea to restrain the election commission from holding panchayat polls on May 1 because it is a holiday on account of International Workers' Day. Anadi Sahu, a former CPM minister and state Citu general secretary, has filed the plea.