Kolkata, April 28 A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Tuesday, refused to bridle the Election Commission of India as regards the implementation of “preventive arrests” to ensure free, fair, violence-free polls in the second phase of the two-phase Assembly election in West Bengal on April 29.
However, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court’s Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed that, although if necessary, the Commission could order preventive arrests, it should keep in mind the factor of “personal liberty” of the person concerned, and no person without prior records or proven charges of involvement in poll-related violence should be harassed.
The division bench of Justice Paul and Justice Sen made this observation on the petition filed by the Trinamool Congress earlier in the day, seeking the court’s intervention to curb the Election Commission of India's rampant “preventive arrests”.
The division bench observed that, since the Election Commission of India’s responsibility was to ensure free, fair, and violence-free polls, it could, if necessary, order preventive arrests, but only after keeping the factor of “personal liberty” in mind.
The division bench also asked the petitioner, on behalf of the Trinamool Congress, to submit a list of persons in whose cases preventive arrests were made despite there being no prior records or proven charges of involvement in poll-related violence.
On Tuesday, preventive arrests continued before the last phase of voting.
The Commission informed on Tuesday evening that the police had arrested 2,473 people across the state's 7 polling districts in the 60 hours since Sunday morning.
The Election Commission of India this time had specifically stressed the identification of “potential trouble-makers” throughout the state and their arrest to prevent them from disrupting the poll process in either of the two phases of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
The second phase of the Assembly polls will be conducted under unprecedented security cover, with the deployment of 2,407 companies of central forces, including Central Armed Police Forces, the India Reserve Battalion, and personnel from armed police wings of other states, in addition to personnel from West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police.
There will be webcasting at all polling stations.
The results will be declared on May 4.
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