Dipankar Rit v. State of West Bengal
In the High Court of Calcutta
WPA(P) 250, 286, 287/2023
Before Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice H. Bhattacharyya
Decided on July 13, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Can the High Court direct the State Election Commission to accept nomination papers online and mandatorily install CCTV cameras at all the polling stations?

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 6, 90)
• The Constitution of India (Article 226, 243-O(b), 329(b))
• The West Bengal State Election Commission Act, 1994 (Section 3(1), 6)
• The West Bengal Panchayat Election Act, 2003 (Section 28(1), 42, 43, 46, 79, 134)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioners have filed public interest litigations concerning the forthcoming Panchayat elections in West Bengal.
• In WPA(P) 250/2023, the petitioner seeks a writ of mandamus to direct the respondents not to engage contractual workers in various departments.
• In WPA(P) 286/2023, the petitioner seeks the court to issue a writ of mandamus to set aside the State Election Commission’s notification for Panchayat elections.
• In WPA(P) 287/2023, the petitioner has applied for a writ of certiorari to quash the authorities’ decision to allow only five days to submit nomination papers. Other directions sought include the appointment of a retired HC Judge as the Special Officer/Observer, installing CCTV cameras at all the polling stations, and prohibiting orders within a one-kilometre radius of various counting stations.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• Among other arguments, the petitioner’s counsel argued in favour of extending the period of filing the nomination papers. The counsel suggested that the Commission can do so under Section 43(1) of the West Began Panchayat Elections Act, 2003. Further, the counsel contended that the Election Commission shall allow online filing of nominations to ensure free and fair elections.
• The counsel appearing on behalf of the State of West Bengal questioned the maintainability of the writs.

Opinion of the Bench

• The State Election Commission cannot alter the fixed date for the election. It can, however, on sufficient reasons, consider extending the date of completion of any election without interfering with the fixed date of elections.
• The court cannot direct the Commission to accept online filings as reforms in the electoral process must have legislative backing.
• It is not practically feasible to install CCTV cameras at all polling stations. However, the State Election Commission shall make necessary installations to ensure the preservation and custody of video footage.

Final Decision

• The court passed the necessary directions and closed the petitions.

Khilansha Mukhija, an undergraduate student at the Institute of Law, Nirma University Ahmedabad, and Yagyanseni Acharya, an undergraduate student at VIT School of Law, Chennai, prepared this case summary during their internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.