Kolkata, 04 August (H.S.) : The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing in the election petition challenging the Bhabanipur Assembly election result, expressing displeasure over the failure to provide case-related documents to the parties in time. The court has sought a report from the Registrar General of the Calcutta High Court on the matter.

The case came up for hearing before the single bench of Justice Gaurang Kant, where senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for the petitioner and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, submitted that the hearing could not proceed as the necessary documents had not yet been made available.

Representing Bhabanipur MLA Suvendu Adhikari, advocate Jaideep Kar sought four weeks' time to file a written reply. Opposing the request, Kalyan Banerjee remarked that the prolonged disposal of election petitions had virtually become an unwritten practice in the Calcutta High Court.

During the proceedings, counsel for Suvendu Adhikari informed the court that, in compliance with its earlier directions, the concerned Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and all relevant documents connected with the case had been properly preserved. He argued that there was, therefore, no valid reason for any further delay in the proceedings.

After hearing both sides, Justice Gaurang Kant directed all parties to exchange copies of the documents in their possession within the next four weeks. The court also instructed them to file affidavits confirming compliance with the direction.

The High Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter after four weeks.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh