Kolkata, 11 March (H.S.) : A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday seeking directions to ensure free, fair and violence-free Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen admitted the petition and is expected to hear the matter shortly.

The PIL was filed a day after the Chief Election Commissioner stated in Kolkata that the Election Commission of India (ECI) would adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards election-related violence. He had asserted that strict action would be taken against anyone involved in violence before, during or after the elections.

The petition cited instances of poll-related violence during previous elections, including allegations of voter intimidation, threats to opposition polling agents and incidents involving the alleged harassment of women.

The petitioner has also demanded immediate deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in highly sensitive areas, installation of CCTV cameras at all polling booths and comprehensive videography arrangements during the elections.

The PIL further referred to violence during the three-tier panchayat elections in 2018 and 2023, which reportedly resulted in several deaths, as well as incidents of post-poll violence following the 2021 Assembly elections.

The Election Commission is said to be giving special focus this time to preventing both pre-poll and post-poll violence in the state. Recently, there were also allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parivartan Yatra was attacked at several locations, with accusations directed at Trinamool Congress activists.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh