Unraveling the Supreme Court Verdict: Elections Must Not Incite Violence

The Supreme Court overruled the objections raised by the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission against the High Court's order to deploy central forces across all districts of the state for panchayat polls.

• The Supreme Court emphasized that the execution of elections should never be a gateway to violence.
• The vacation bench, consisting of Justices B V Nagarathna and Manoj Misra, dismissed the appeals, stating that the High Court's order aimed to ensure free and fair elections throughout West Bengal.
• The Special Leave Petition was dismissed, considering the necessity to conduct elections on a single day due to the large number of polling booths.
• Justice Nagarathna pointed out to the state and the SEC that elections should not serve as a pretext for violence. He noted that West Bengal, known for its grassroot democracy, must ensure free and fair elections at the local level.
• The West Bengal state contended that its police force was sufficiently equipped to manage the elections.
• The state highlighted that only 189 out of the 61,636 polling booths were identified as sensitive, and it had 50,000-60,000 police personnel ready for deployment.
• The Supreme Court advised the SEC that the deployment of forces, whether from the central or state, would only assist in fulfilling its duty.