'Why only professors, put judges too on election duty': High court slams Election Commission

Kolkata: Calcutta HC judge, Justice Krishna Rao, on Thursday slammed the Election Commission for not producing notifications indicating if assistant professors could be appointed as presiding polling officers in assembly elections. "You (EC) can appoint judges also under Section 26 (of the Representation of People Act) as polling officers... I am ready to go," he said, giving the poll panel another opportunity to get the facts supporting its action.

A group of assistant professors challenged EC's order directing them to join as presiding officers for the Bengal elections. They argued EC, in a previous order, had said, "Group A-equivalent senior officers, including teaching staff of universities and colleges, should not be drafted for polling duties on polling station premises without specific reasons to be recorded in writing by the DEO..."

Section 26 states a DEO can appoint a presiding officer for each polling station as necessary but will not appoint anyone employed by or is working for a candidate. Justice Rao, after hearing EC counsel's arguments, said, "We can also go to the polling office... It is not a joke, every time you are changing your notification."




Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, representing the assistant professors, said their main demand was not to be assigned the duty of a presiding officer. "There is a pool of officers; let them be assigned. Let teachers not be humiliated like this."

Highlighting the requisition was for March 19 and that the professors had come to court too late, EC counsel said, "At this stage, interfering with the entire procedure will halt the election." To this, Justice Rao said even if it was the day before, the petition had to be decided by law. "Show me the notification by which they have been requisitioned."

When EC's counsel pointed to an SC order appointing judicial officers for SIR, Justice Rao said, "Okay, so I am referring the matter to the SC. The order of SC is being used by EC like this."

The case will be heard again on Friday.
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