The Election Commission told the Calcutta HC that it has the power to transfer state or Centre officers to ensure a “free and fair” election. Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee questioned how the state would function for a month without its officers.
KOLKATA: The Election Commission told the Calcutta High Court that it has the authority to reassign state or central officers to ensure a “free and fair” election, while senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee asked how the state would function for a month without its officers.
The dispute over whether the EC could transfer 73 state officers ahead of the Bengal assembly polls without consulting the state government arose from a PIL filed by Calcutta HC lawyer Arka Kumar Nag.
On the second day of hearings before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, both the EC and Banerjee, representing the petitioner, debated whether the commission was empowered to order the transfers.
EC counsel, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, relied on case law to contend that the commission has jurisdiction to oversee any election whether Lok Sabha or state assembly. He maintained that from the announcement of the election schedule to the declaration of results, the EC wields broad powers, including the coordination of government departments to maintain law and order.
Banerjee argued,
“If all officers are transferred, how will the state run? For the whole month, all development work will stop is it a fair act of ECI?”
The court will continue the hearing on March 27.
Background of the Case
The Election Commission (EC) on Monday evening transferred 73 Returning Officers (ROs) in West Bengal, including the RO for Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. Most of the officers shifted are from the West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS).
The transfers include 13 officers from North 24 Parganas; 10 each from South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur; four each from Malda, Murshidabad and Kolkata North; three each from Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur and Paschim Bardhaman; two each from Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Kolkata South and Bankura; and one each from Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Dakshin Dinajpur, Purulia and Purba Bardhaman.
The EC order states that the state Chief Electoral Officer recommended these transfers “for free and fair election”.
The EC (Secretary) Sujeet Kumar Misra wrote to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal,
“I am directed to refer to your emails, dated 19.03.2026 & 23.03.2026 on the subject above and to state that the Commission has agreed to your proposal regarding transfer/posting of Returning Officers in the State of West Bengal, as per the list enclosed… You are requested to direct the officers to report to the ACs concerned, latest by 5 pm on 24.03.2026 (Tuesday), without fail, so that they can attend the training program scheduled at 11:00 am on 25.03.2026 (Wednesday),”
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A senior state administration official described the moves as “unprecedented,” noting that ROs are the principal authority in an Assembly constituency and make final decisions on polling and counting. “So, such large-scale transfers are very significant and unprecedented as well.”
This wave of transfers followed earlier orders that removed the chief secretary, home secretary, DGP and Kolkata Police Commissioner just hours after the EC announced the poll schedule. Subsequently, 12 Superintendents of Police, four Police Commissioners and one Deputy Police Commissioner were also transferred.
The EC has additionally deployed 478 central observers to monitor the election process in the state the largest number among the five states/UTs scheduled to vote next month.
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