Kolkata: The West Bengal Election Commission on Friday announced dates for the Panchayat elections in the state. The elections will be held in three phases on July 2, 6 and 10. The results will be announced three days later.
The state government's demand for a two-phase polling was earlier shot down by the Calcutta High Court.
The state election commission though said that the court order was not clear on deployment of central forces for security, and now plans to appeal against the order in the Supreme Court.
The election commission wants central forces to ensure a fair election. But this was opposed by the state government....
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04:55 PM, May 17, 2013
Kolkata: A day after the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission to mutually decide on dates for the panchayat election, a move has been initiated by both to hold a meeting on Thursday. The meeting will take place amidst a deadline set by the High Court to complete the poll process by July 15. SEC secretary Tapas Roy told reporters that the meeting...
05:56 PM, May 15, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Tuesday hailed the Calcutta High Court order on panchayat elections as "historic." "This is a historic order of the hon'ble High Court and we are very happy," state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the State Election Commission (SEC) order for 800 companies of central forces to man the panchayat polls, and directed that...
03:46 PM, May 14, 2013
Kolkata: In a breather for the Mamata Banerjee government, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday said that it is not mandatory to deploy central paramilitary forces for the upcoming Panchayat polls. The West Bengal government had appealed the higher bench after a single bench upheld the State Election Commission's plea for three-phase polling and deployment of central forces. The State government wanted two-phase polling and security...
01:11 PM, May 14, 2013
Kolkata: Hearing will continue on Tuesday in the Calcutta High Court on the standoff between West Bengal government and the state Election Commission (EC) over panchayat elections. On Monday, the WB government filed a fresh appeal to a higher bench against the old judgement of the Single bench in favour of the EC. The court directed the state poll panel to make a proper assessment over need for security for...
08:08 AM, May 14, 2013
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has deferred till Tuesday the hearing related to the tussle between West Bengal and the state election commission over the number of phases in the Panchayat election. West Bengal government on Monday filed a fresh appeal to a higher bench against an old judgement that upheld the supremacy of state election commission while conducting Panchayat polls. The crucial rural polls are slated in June this...
06:50 PM, May 13, 2013
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the death of a Trinamool Congress activist in police custody in January. 30-year-old Kazi Nasiruddin, a TMC activist, had died after he was allegedly tortured by the police. He had been arrested following a face-off with the police over a car parking issue and taken to the police station. He was later on taken to the...
01:55 PM, May 13, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal government will on Monday file a fresh appeal to a higher bench against an old judgement that upheld the supremacy of state election commission while conducting Panchayat polls. The crucial rural polls are slated in June this year. In a setback to the state government, the Calcutta High Court had Friday directed that these elections would be held in three phases using central armed forces on dates...
09:34 AM, May 13, 2013
Burdwan: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday slammed the Opposition for conspiring to prevent her government from holding panchayat polls on time and vowed that elections will be held at the appropriate time. "Panchayat polls will be held at the appropriate time. Work for panchayats and 100 days' will not be hampered", she said at a party rally here without elaborating. "We have been trying to hold panchayat...
01:59 AM, May 11, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal government would appeal against the Calcutta High Court order upholding the primacy of the State Election Commission and asking it to provide names of 400 observers for the panchayat polls by Saturday, Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said. "We will appeal against the order before a division bench as early as possible because it is unrealistic and will undermine the federal structure and the state's minimum powers,"...
07:55 PM, May 10, 2013
Kolkata: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said there was a need to maintain a "fine balance" in the role and responsibility of legislature, executive and judiciary as the success of Parliamentary democracy depends on it. Addressing the valedictory function of the sesquicentennial celebrations of Calcutta High Court, Mukherjee said it was the "responsibility" of the judiciary to evolve a mechanism of self-discipline to maintain this balance. "Justice Kabir elaborated about...
11:05 AM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: The Calcutta High Court on Monday granted leave to file a PIL in the West Bengal chit fund scam. The PIL sought a CBI enquiry into the scam and compensation to the depositors, also alleging vicarious liability by the government. The PIL said it was the duty of the state and the central government to pay compensation to the depositor and also to fix the responsibility of the...
12:32 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal panchayat polls case will come for for hearing in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday. The State Election Commission and the West Bengal government are at loggerheads. Mamata Banerjee's government has proposed May 5 and May 8 as the new dates for panchayat polls but the EC wants to conduct polls in 3 phases. The state government moved an application before the court of Justice Biswanath...
08:37 AM, Apr 09, 2013
Kolkata: India's premier management institute, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) will get a new head Monday, said outgoing director Shekhar Chaudhuri in Kolkata on Saturday. "On April 8, I shall be handing over the charge of the Institute to director designate, Professor Saibal Chattopadhyay, a senior faculty member in the Operations Management Group of our institute," he said. "I have had the opportunity to work with him very...
11:50 PM, Apr 06, 2013
The Election Commission and the West Bengal government are at loggerheads over the dates of the coming Panchayat elections in the state. The Calcutta High Court will hear the Election Commission's petition to quash the state government's notification. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants elections in two phases as opposed to three. ...
09:08 AM, Apr 02, 2013
The West Bengal State Election Commission has moved the Calcutta High Court on Monday appealing for quashing of the state Panchayat Election notification. The Mamata Banerjee government had called for a two-phase election to be held on April 26 and 30. ...
12:43 PM, Apr 01, 2013
Amit Chaudhuri, an author, has taken it upon himself to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the 'city of joy' Kolkata. The city of joy and teeming millions has been Amit Chaudhuri's muse for his three novels. His love for the city and its neighbourhoods has made him fight for a new heritage law to preserve its history. ...
01:39 PM, Mar 02, 2013
The death toll in Wednesday's fire tragedy in Kolkata has risen to 20. One of the injured admitted at the NRS medical college died on Friday morning. ...
03:23 PM, Mar 01, 2013
Screams of people on fire broke the silence of the night in the congested Surya Sen Market complex in the city where a fire left labourers and shopkeepers dead. Locals said they were alerted to the fire by shouts of the victims sleeping inside the complex. ...
03:35 PM, Feb 27, 2013
