HC Orders Preservation of CCTV Footage, EVMs and VVPATs in Bhowanipore Election Challenge.
Our Correspondent / Kolkata
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission to preserve all CCTV footage from the counting centre, along with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units used in every polling booth under the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency.
The order came while the court was hearing a petition filed by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has challenged her defeat to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in the Bhowanipore Assembly election by a margin of 15,105 votes.
Justice Gaurang Kanth instructed that the CCTV recordings, EVMs, and VVPATs must not be erased, overwritten, destroyed, tampered with, transferred, redeployed, opened, or otherwise handled without the court’s approval. The court further directed that all EVMs used in the constituency remain in the custody of the District Election Officer until the petition is finally decided.
Observing the importance of preserving the material, the court noted that any failure to do so could result in the loss of evidence that may be relevant during the trial of the election petition.
The petition names 17 respondents, including Suvendu Adhikari and the Election Commission. The High Court directed the respondents to submit their affidavits in opposition within four weeks, following which the petitioner may file a reply affidavit within another four weeks. The matter is scheduled to be heard again after 12 weeks.
During the hearing, an interesting exchange took place between the bench and Mamata Banerjee’s counsel, Kalyan Banerjee. Justice Kanth remarked, “My elder brother is a national spokesperson for the BJP.”
Responding to the observation, Kalyan Banerjee said he was already aware of the fact and had no concerns. He added that his confidence in the judge was based on his experience appearing before him in several cases and would not be influenced by any external factor.
Justice Kanth replied, “A judge is never prejudiced.”
Presenting his arguments, Kalyan Banerjee alleged that irregularities began on the day of counting when Suvendu Adhikari entered the counting centre during the 13th round. He claimed that Trinamool Congress agents were assaulted and that Mamata Banerjee was denied entry. According to him, a sudden and unexpected lead emerged from the 13th round onwards. He further alleged that the machine’s battery charge reportedly changed from 18% to 81%, arguing that the CCTV footage would reveal the sequence of events. Banerjee also pointed out that the Returning Officer for Bhowanipore had served in the same capacity during the 2021 Nandigram election.
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