The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday issued a significant directive in connection with a petition filed by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, challenging the vote-counting process and results of the Bhawanipore Assembly constituency election. Upon hearing the matter, Justice Gourang Kanth directed the authorities to preserve all election-related materials, including data, CCTV footage, VVPAT records, and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), associated with the counting process. The court emphasised that the evidence must be secured with utmost care to ensure its availability during the course of the legal proceedings.
In its interim order, the court specifically instructed that footage from all CCTV cameras—both inside and outside Sakhawat Memorial School, the designated counting centre — be fully preserved. The directive is being viewed as a crucial step in the ongoing legal battle, carrying significant political and legal implications.
The High Court also ordered that all relevant parties be included in the case. It directed the implementation of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, along with Election Commission’s observer Subrata Gupta and CEO Sunil Agarwal, in the Bhawanipore election petition.
The development comes against the backdrop of Mamata’s earlier electoral challenge. In the 2021 Assembly elections, she had contested from Nandigram but lost to Adhikari. Subsequently, she approached the Calcutta High Court alleging irregularities in the vote counting process. That petition remains pending.
In the recent Assembly elections, Mamata and Adhikari faced off again in Bhawanipore, where the Trinamool Congress leader was defeated. Alleging large-scale irregularities in the counting process, she filed a fresh petition before the High Court.
Responding to the plea, the court has now taken steps to ensure that no evidence related to the election is tampered with or destroyed. The directive to preserve critical materials such as CCTV footage and EVMs is expected to play a key role in the adjudication of the case.
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