WB Panchayat polls: SC allows 30 days to file election petitions

In a big relief to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, the Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Calcutta High Court order which permitted e-filing of nominations in West Bengal Panchayat polls, through mediums such as e-mail and WhatsApp.

The apex court's three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, and comprising judges A.M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, in its order, also said that the e- filing would not affect the final results of the state Panchayat elections.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist), had earlier alleged that their candidates were obstructed from filing nomination papers. They later challenged the results of the elections, won by the TMC, before the Supreme Court.

The court took note of the allegations and stated that candidates who are aggrieved with the election results can file their petitions before the concerned court within 30 days.

Earlier, the top court had expressed shock over the fact that around 34 per cent seats were uncontested in the polls.

Elections were held in phases for 48,650 posts in Gram Panchayats, 825 Zilla Parishads, and 9,217 posts in Panchayat Samiti. The Mamta Banerjee-led government won 20,159 seats, which were elected uncontested.