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Not many took note of Mira Pande, the State Election Commissioner of West Bengal, till March this year, when she stubbornly challenged the State Government’s authority in taking decisions, unilaterally, on holding panchayat polls.
After the Supreme Court judgement on Friday, the soft-spoken retired bureaucrat will be remembered for changing the way rural and municipal elections are held in West Bengal and other states, for ever.
Keeping in tune with the requisitions of the SEC, the apex court ordered holding a five-phase election in July under proper security cover to be provided by the State as well as the Central government.
The bottom line, experts say, is clear: The constitutional body will henceforth have the final say in holding rural and municipal polls, in a free and fair manner, ignoring the whims and fancies of the political masters.
“SEC will now have the same status and authority as the Election Commission India,” said Biswanath Chakraborty. A professor of Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, Chakraborty is a prominent researcher on the structure and role of SECs in the country.
The tiff
The trouble began nearly a year ago. The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal preferred to either ignore or brush aside a series of communications from the state election commission on poll preparations.
Ignoring SEC’s demand to hold a three-phase election under requisite security cover to be provided by Central paramilitary forces, in March this year, the West Bengal government issued notification for a two-phase election between April 26 and 30. The deployment of central forces was also ruled out.
legal battle
The state felt that as per the clause 42 of West Bengal Panchayati Raj Act, the Mamata Banerjee government had complete authority in deciding the date of election, number of phases and the deployment of law enforcing agencies during the poll.
Armed with a previous Supreme Court ruling in October 2006 (Kishan Singh Tomar vs Municipal Corporation of the city) that allowed the State Election Commissions “to function independent of the concerned State Governments”, Pande challenged the West Bengal government’s decision in the Calcutta High Court.
The Commissions stand was vindicated as a single bench Court upheld the “supremacy” of the state election commission in holding free and fair polls.
But, an adamant State government challenged the verdict before a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court that prescribed a formula for deployment of forces and asked the state government to notify the poll dates in consultation with SEC.
The State was given complete charge in deployment of forces either from its own pool of armed police or from other sources.
While the SEC apparently complied with the Division Bench order, the State government notified poll dates without any disclosure on availability of forces. This resulted in the SEC knocking on the doors of High Court again on June 18.
With little sign of resolution on the issue, the SEC finally sought intervention of the apex court in holding free and fair polls. In its judgement on June 28, the Supreme Court has sealed the issue, once and for all.
pratim.bose@thehindu.co.in
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