Background

In the instant case, Suvendu Adhikari v. Rajiv Sinha Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP and Adhir Ranhjan Chaudhary of the Congress filed a contempt suit against the State of West Bengal and the West Bengal State Election Commission for failing to follow orders issued by the High Court on June 13 and June 15, 2023. The court ordered that Central Force’s presence in West Bengal be extended for 10 days starting on the day the election results were announced. A report submitted by the Inspector General, BSF, the Force Coordinator contained accusations of non-cooperation in opposition to the SEC State Government, according to the court. It would be wilful defiance of the court’s directive and instruction if the charges were accurate.

Contention from parties 

The Additional Solicitor General argued that the Central Forces were not granted access to other facilities and that the Force Coordinator was not given clear orders on deployment. In addition, the Additional Solicitor General argued that for the Central Force to be used effectively, all district authorities may be told to assign an appropriate number of local police officers to each company. During this time, the Additional Director General of the State may be in charge of maintaining contact with the Central Forces.

Analysis of Court order 

The West Bengal State Government and West Bengal State Election Commission were criticised by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which was made up of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar, for refusing to work with the Central government to deploy the Central forces during the Panchayat elections held on July 8, 2023, in West Bengal.

The State of West Bengal’s Chief Secretary was instructed by the court to convene an urgent meeting and invite the Inspector General, the BSF, the Force Coordinator, the Director General of the State of West Bengal, the Additional Inspector General of Law and Order, the Home Secretary, and any other State Government officials who may be needed. The Court also outlined the high-level decisions that must be made during the meeting and instructed the West Bengal Chief Secretary to make sure that they are carefully followed. The Court ordered the SEC and the relevant State Government authorities to provide a suitable affidavit-based response by July 24, 2023, to all claims stated in the report submitted by the Inspector General, BSF. The court set July 26, 2023, as the next hearing date.

CASE NAME – Suvendu Adhikari v. Rajiv Sinha, CPA NO.831/2023