The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday refused to stay the upcoming bypoll election in West Bengal. On September 30, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will take on BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal and CPI-M's Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj had concluded hearing in the matter last week on Friday and reserved judgment on it.
The petitioner had claimed that the EC had said in a press note that it decided to hold by-election to Bhabanipur constituency "considering the constitutional exigency and special request from State of West Bengal". The court dismissed the PIL in which the language used to seek the by-poll was challenged.
The bench said it was inappropriate on the part of the West Bengal chief secretary to have written such a letter in which he had appealed to the election commission for holding the by-election at Bhabanipur. The chief secretary had in the letter said that a "constitutional crisis" would occur if the by-election to Bhabanipur was not held.
Further details awaited.
