The Calcutta High Court dismissed a PIL that challenged the Election Commission of India’s orders transferring police officers and bureaucrats in West Bengal. The Court said such pre-election administrative decisions fall within the poll body’s authority.
The Calcutta High Court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenged the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) orders transferring numerous senior police officials and bureaucrats in West Bengal ahead of the State assembly elections.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen delivered the judgment today.
The petition, filed by advocate Arka Kumar Nag, contended that the ECI had carried out mass transfers, effectively removing nearly the entire senior administrative and police leadership of the State.
Recently, the ECI ordered the replacement of the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, the Home Secretary, several District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police, and other senior IAS and IPS officers. Additional transfers followed thereafter.
Nag claimed that many senior IPS officers from the West Bengal cadre had been posted to other States—such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Nagaland on election observer duties.
He maintained that this wholesale dismantling of the State’s administrative machinery before the Assembly elections was not a legitimate exercise of power under Article 324 of the Constitution but rather a colourable and punitive action.
The PIL also argued that these measures seriously harmed the public interest and violated the principles of federalism.
Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, representing the petitioner, pointed out on March 23 that even officials unconnected with election duties had been sent elsewhere.
Banerjee asked,
“Five States are going to elections, they can take from 18 remaining States. If head of institutions is sent, what is happening to development in State,”
He further raised allegations involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
He said,
“There was impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The allegation was that ECI is acting whimsically. Supreme Court has now said adjudicatory process will be done by judges,”
Bandopadhyay acknowledged the ECI’s supervisory role during the election period but questioned whether that authority could be exercised arbitrarily.
He asked,
“I am well aware of supervisory power of ECI but the question is whether the ECI can act arbitrarily, whether ECI is bound by rule of law, whether it can destroy federal structural, when elected government is there, can ECI interfere,”
He also argued that elections could not justify transferring the entire executive authority to the poll body.
Banerjee demanded,
“Entire power of running State cannot go to ECI. What will State do when number 1 person working is taken away. Who will look after development He works. What will ECI do if there is a disaster?”
Bandopadhyay questioned how the ECI hurriedly assessed officers including the Chief Secretary and on what basis those transfers were ordered.
He argued,
“It has to be objective assessment( before transfer). Within one day, it has been assessed? Because he enjoys power? Experienced persons with impeccable record. ECI says ‘go’. What assessment have you made? Because you want your choice people? I don’t know where they are getting the list,”
He added that the ECI’s stance appeared to be that “everyone is bad” and accused the Commission of singling out West Bengal.
Bandopadhyay stated,
“Similarly, Chief Secretary is not there only for elections. There are other duties. Similarly DMs. Why this grudge? No other state it has been done. Only West Bengal,”
ALSO READ: Mamata Banerjee Demands Justice for Pahalgam Terror Attack Victims, Slams Centre
Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, along with Advocates Rahul Kumar Singh, Shrobana Sengupta and Kaushik Bandyopadhyay, represented the petitioner.
Senior Advocates Dama Seshadri Naidu and Soumya Mazumdar, with Advocates Anamika Pandey, Abhinav Thakur, Surjaneel Das, Kumar Utsav and Ghanshyam Pandey, appeared for the ECI.
Advocate General Kishore Datta, accompanied by Advocates Swapan Banerjee, Sumita Shaw, Diptendu Narayan Banerjee and Soumen Chatterjee, represented the State of West Bengal.