The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking deployment of Central forces to prevent post-poll violence in West Bengal during the ongoing vote counting process, directing the petitioner to seek appropriate relief before the jurisdictional High Court.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order on a petition filed by an organisation named ‘Sanatan Sanstha,’ raising apprehensions of large-scale violence similar to incidents reported after the 2021 Assembly elections.
Senior Advocate V Giri, appearing for the petitioner, sought directions for constitution of a monitoring mechanism, preferably under the supervision of a former Supreme Court judge, to oversee deployment of adequate security forces and ensure maintenance of public order during and after declaration of election results.
The Bench, however, declined to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution, observing that issues relating to law and order fall within the domain of the State and are more appropriately addressed by the High Court under Article 226.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI), submitted that the Commission’s supervisory role effectively ceased upon completion of the counting process and declaration of results.
The petitioner also informed the Court that the present relief had been sought through an interlocutory application in a pending writ petition. However, the Bench maintained that the appropriate remedy lay before the High Court and declined to pass any interim directions.
The Court further noted that the main writ petition is listed for hearing on May 11 and will be taken up in due course. It emphasised that the State’s political executive bears primary responsibility for maintaining law and order and ensuring that adequate measures are in place to prevent any untoward incidents.
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