High Court directs preservation of docs, CCTV footage
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that all documents and CCTV footage relating to election in West Midnapore’s Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency be preserved till disposal of an election petition filed by BJP candidate Hiranmay Chattopadhyaya.
Justice Bivas Pattanayak directed the registrar concerned of the high court to serve a copy of this order to the Chief Election Commissioner of India. The court directed that pending a decision on the election petition, all documents, devices, CCTV footage and digital video recorders (DVRs) related to the election conducted in the Ghatal Constituency be preserved by the custodian authority of
such documents.
Chattopadhya’s lawyer Billwadal Bhattacharya is learnt to have said that the petition challenges the election process on the ground of alleged corrupt practices. He prayed for an order for preservation of records, including CCTV footage, EVMs and the DVRs in all the polling booths of the constituency.
The court said that a prayer by the petitioner’s lawyer for a forensic audit of the CCTV footage will be decided on the next date of hearing on
September 6.
Deepak Adhikari of the Trinamool Congress was declared winner from Ghatal, where elections were held on May 25. Both BJP’s Hiranmay Chattopadhyay and TMC’s Deepak Adhikari are Bengali film actors and are known by their screen names Hiran and
Dev, respectively.
Justice Pattanayak directed that notice be issued to the respondents in the petition.
Recently, the court had also directed the preservation of all documents and CCTV footage in connection with the election petition of BJP’s Basirhat Lok Sabha seat candidate Rekha Patra who alleged corrupt electoral practices, including suppression of material facts by the elected TMC candidate Haji Nurul Islam.
Rekha Patra was fielded in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by the BJP but lost to Trinamool Congress’ Haji Nurul Islam who won with more than three lakh votes. Patra had alleged corrupt practices in the election.
