Calcutta High Court Adjourns Mamata Banerjee's Election Petition To Nov 16 In View Of Suvendu Adhikari's Transfer Plea In Supreme Court

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed the application moved by BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari seeking adjournment on the ground that a transfer petition has been filed by him before the Supreme Court and is currently pending adjudication. On July 14, 2021 Suvendu Adhikari had moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the election petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging Suvendu Adhikari's election win from the Nandigram constituency in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Polls. 

Senior counsel Jaydip Kar appearing on behalf of Suvendu Adhikari apprised the Court that a compliance report regarding the payment of costs imposed had not been filed by the petitioner. He referred to the order dated July 7, 2021 of Justice Kausik Chanda who had imposed costs to the tune of Rs 5 lakhs on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after recusing himself from adjudicating upon the election petition. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing on behalf of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had made reservations regarding the political inclinations of Justice Kausik Chanda. 

Senior advocate S.N Mookerjee had submitted before the Court that the payment of costs had already been made but a compliance report to this effect had not been filed yet. 

Taking note of the submissions, Justice Shampa Sarkar adjourned the matter to November 15 and further directed the petitioner to file a compliance report before the next date of hearing. 

During the hearing on Thursday, senior counsel S.N Mookerjee raised an objection to the plea for adjournment and accordingly remarked, "Election petitions must be adjudicated expeditiously. Merely because a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court, the matter cannot be adjourned." He also contended that the transfer petition had been filed by Suvendu Adhikari on the apprehension that he would not be privy to a fair trial in West Bengal, however the senior counsel pointed out that the present proceedings are not yet at the stage of trial. 

Senior advocate S.N Mookerjee further pointed out to the Court that pursuant to the Calcutta High Court Rules in relation to election petitions, Rule 26 stipulates that parties concerned must file their respective written submissions. Accordingly, he urged the Court to permit the parties concerned to file written submissions regardless of the plea for adjournment sought. 

In response, senior counsel Jaydip Kar noted that pursuant to the amended provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, a time period of 120 days is given to parties to file written submissions. 

Accordingly, Justice Sarkar directed the parties to file their written submissions in the meantime. The Court also directed the parties to submit a copy of the impugned election petition and the application of adjournment moved by the respondent to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal in order to preserve the necessary records. 

Case Title: Mamata Banerjee v. Suvendu Adhikari