SC questions WB EC on cancellation of order on panchayat poll nomination

New Delhi: The flip-flop of West Bengal State Election Commission in first extending the deadline for filing of nominations for the panchayat polls and taking the decision back the next very day, on Wednesday came under the scanner of the Supreme Court which questioned the rationale behind such a retreat.

The top court also said it would pass an order on the issue on August 6 after hearing the matter when the state poll panel urged it to allow declaration of the results of the elections held in phases in May.

The state poll panel on the night of April 9 had taken note of several complaints that many intending candidates could not file their nomination papers as either they or their proposers were "obstructed" from submitting them and extended the deadline till 3 PM next day. However, it cancelled the order the next morning.

"Why did you (state poll panel) first extended the deadline for filing the nomination papers and later took back the decision," a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked the state.

The bench said the deadline was extended after poll panel received complaints regarding obstructions in filing of nomination papers and asked whether it had conducted any inquiry before cancelling the decision on extension of time.

"Did you (poll panel) make an enquiry about the situation at the ground level before taking back the decision (extending time to file nomination papers)," the bench asked.

Senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Amrendra Sharan, appearing for the state poll panel WBSEC, urged the court to consider allowing it to declare the results on seats of panchayat polls which were duly contested. To this, the bench said it would pass order after hearing the matter on August 6. The SC had earlier expressed shock at the fact that "thousands and thousands" of seats in the recent polls had remained uncontested.