KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court has directed the state poll panel to preserve the CCTV footage of all polling stations of December 19 Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections following allegations of booth rigging, false voting, and voting in the name of dead persons.
A division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj also directed that for the forthcoming elections to the remaining civic bodies, the State Election Commission will take steps to install CCTV cameras at conspicuous spots in all main and ancillary booths and preserve the CCTV footages so that in case of need it can be sent for audit.
The bench said that the direction in connection with the KMC elections was issued considering serious allegations of rigging of booths, false voting, voting in the name of dead persons, in the name of absent NRIs, driving out the polling agents of other parties from the booths, violence with the candidates and polling agents, and improper functioning of video cameras.
The SEC was also directed to preserve the diaries of the presiding officer and registers containing the thumb impression/signature of voters of all the polling booths in a sealed cover with immediate effect.
The bench, in its order of Thursday, which was made available on Friday, directed the commission to preserve the control unit of EVMs and voting record prepared from the EVMs.
"In order to maintain the transparency and fairness, we direct that the State Election Commission shall take steps to install CCTV cameras at conspicuous spots in all main and ancillary booths across the State and will preserve the CCTV footages so that in case of need it can be sent for audit" for the elections to the remaining civic bodies, the bench directed.
The bench passed the order after hearing the state BJP, a social activist, and two CPI(M) candidates for the KMC elections who made the allegations and the state government and the SEC, who had on December 22 filed reports of compliance with the court's order to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.
The court disposed of a prayer for the deployment of paramilitary forces for the remaining municipal elections by the state BJP through its leader Pratap Banerjee, granting liberty to file fresh applications at the appropriate stage following declaration of the polls to these bodies.
The state government and the SEC have proposed before the court that elections to five municipal corporations -- Asansol, Siliguri, Chandannagar, Howrah and Bidhannagar -- be held on January 22, and to the rest of the municipal bodies on February 27.
The division bench directed that the matter will be taken up for hearing again on January 6.