The Calcutta High Court has put a hold on a single-judge’s directive for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of tampering with nomination papers for the upcoming West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023. The allegations were made against a returning officer from Howrah district.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The decision was made by a division bench consisting of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray. They were hearing an appeal filed by the District Magistrate of Howrah and other election officers, challenging the single-judge’s June 21 order for a CBI investigation into the allegations.
The allegations in question were made by candidates from opposition parties. They claimed that their nomination papers had been tampered with during the scrutiny process, leading to their nominations being blocked due to a supposed lack of caste certificates. The candidates maintain that they had submitted these certificates at the time of filing their nominations.
The court stated,
“Since both parties have arguable cases, which require our careful consideration, let CBI not take any steps in terms of the impugned order till 26.6.2023. Other portions of the impugned order shall remain untouched for the time being.” The final order in the case is expected to be delivered on June 26.
Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, representing the appellants, argued that a CBI inquiry cannot be ordered for the mere asking. He stated, “Just because some allegations are made against the officers in the administration, the premier investigating agency of the country cannot be directed to conduct an enquiry. Any and every administrative lapse cannot be subjected to CBI enquiry.”
On the other hand, Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, representing the respondents, contended that the appeal was not maintainable under law, as the order of the single-judge could not be construed as a “judgement” under clause 15 of the Letters Patent of the Calcutta High Court, 1865.
The court noted that the key questions to consider were the circumstances in which a CBI inquiry may be justifiably directed by the court, and whether the facts of the present case depict one of such circumstances. The final order in the case is expected to be delivered on June 26.