The division bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam on Tuesday directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to deploy central forces in each of the 61,000-odd polling booths across the state for the July 8 panchayat polls.
The court in its order said that to make this possible, “necessary relaxation" can be made with regard to such number of personnel to be deployed at each of the polling stations.
Lawyers of Calcutta High Court said the court spoke of "necessary relaxation" regarding the deployment of central forces since a general rule states that at least four jawans (half a section) of central forces should be deployed in one place at any given time.
“Given that about 65,000 active central force jawans are available for the rural polls, they can be deployed to guard only about 15,000-odd booths if the rule is followed. This is the reason why the court has mentioned the necessary relaxations in terms of deployment of central forces so that the central force jawans can be deployed in each booth,” explained a lawyer.
The division bench has also mentioned how the existing central force jawans can be used to ensure that they are posted in all the booths.
“It is submitted by the learned Deputy Solicitor General that considering the Forces which have been deployed, there will be nearly 65,000 active personnel and the State Police Forces will be about 70,000 and the deployment on a ratio of 50=50 will solve the issue,” reads the order.
The court gave the responsibility of issuing necessary orders regarding deployment of central forces in each booth to the BSF inspector-general, who has been appointed as the force coordinator appointed by the Centre.
The order was issued following a petition by Sangrami Joutha Mancha, an association of state government employees, which demanded deployment of central forces in all booths across Bengal.
State poll panel sources said the high court order would make things simpler for them at a time ruling Trinamul and the Opposition are at loggerheads over the deployment of central forces.
“It came as a relief for the poll panel as nobody will now question the mapping of sensitive booths as armed jawans of central forces and the state police will be deployed in each booth. As only 7.84 per cent booths have been identified, questions were being raised whether the number of sensitive booths has been kept low so that armed forces are not deployed in most booths,” said a poll panel source.
Opposition parties also heaved a sigh of relief as the court ensured central forces in each booth. But they asked if central force jawans could act independently if any malpractice was witnessed in the booths.
“It has been ensured that the state government can't keep the central forces out of poll duty unlike in 2013. But it has to be ensured that the single jawan posted in the booth can act immediately in case of an emergency and they are not influenced by the state forces deployed in the same booth. Developing a mechanism in this regard is of utmost importance ahead of poll day,” said a BJP leader.
Sangrami Joutha Mancha members also raised the same issue. They said there should be a contact number where polling officers can inform the central force commanders in case any emergency arises.
“We don’t trust the state police. If only one central force jawan is posted in a booth, there should be a mechanism to draw the attention of central force bosses so that the jawan in the booth can act immediately,” said a leader of the association.
