Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday raised serious concerns over the ECI appointing assistant professors from colleges and universities as presiding officers to address a shortage of polling personnel.
Justice Krishna Rao questioned the timing of the decision, observing that such a shortage should have been anticipated before the election schedule was announced. The court noted that citing a deficit of over 1,000 polling staff at the “last moment” was not a satisfactory explanation for deviating from established guidelines.
The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, argued that prior ECI directions discouraged the deployment of Group A equivalent officers, including teaching staff, for polling duties unless unavoidable circumstances were recorded in writing by the District Election Officer.
Appearing for the poll panel, senior advocate Soumya Majumdar submitted that the appointments were made due to unavoidable constraints and logistical gaps arising close to polling. He sought time to place relevant records before the court to justify the decision.