Withdrawal forced us to step in: HC

TT, Calcutta: A Calcutta High Court single-judge bench has observed that there would have been no need for the judiciary to look into the panchayat poll process had the state election commissioner not withdrawn the one-day extension of the nomination phase.

Justice Subrata Talukdar made the observation after Trinamul Congress counsel Kalyan Banerjee repeatedly contended that no court had the right to intervene and stall the poll process once it had begun.

"The court is concerned only with two incidents that took place on April 9 and 10. It would not have had to intervene in the poll process had the commission, after passing an order (extending the deadline for nomination by a day) following a Supreme Court order on April 9, not issued a notification a day later to withdraw it," Justice Talukdar said.

Banerjee, the Serampore MP of Trinamul, said even if the notification by the election commissioner, A.K. Singh, was assumed to be illegal, the court didn't have the right to intervene.

The judge said the hearing would continue on Wednesday and extended the stay on the election process by another day.

The Trinamul counsel said he would convince the court's lack of power on the poll process during the hearing on Wednesday.

Before resuming the hearing, the judge said: "Let us concentrate on two points. Whether the case is maintainable before this court and the poll-related issues on April 9 and 10."

"Right?" he asked.

All the parties agreed with the judge.

A division bench of the high court had sent the case back to the single judge on Monday.