It has come down to a courtroom tussle between Mamata and Suvendu. On Tuesday, the High Court made it clear: preserve the EVMs and the footage from Bhabanipur right away. The idea is to put a lid on any tampering with the evidence as Banerjee puts forward her case against Adhikari’s declared victory, and to make sure nothing from the May 4 tally is lost.
Why the court stepped in
The High Court has put its stamp on Banerjee’s petition, having seen it fits the bill under the Representation of the People Act. In securing the evidence at this early stage, the court is making a point: when we get to the adjudication, we want to be looking at unimpeachable records from the counting centre.
Then there was Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, the senior advocate for Banerjee, who put forward some claims of shenanigans in the counting. But the court’s job for now is to make sure no file or machine is fiddled with until we can look at the merits of the dispute.
What the order covers
Justice Gaurang Kanth has told the Returning Officer to put his hand on all the EVMs and VVPATs that saw use in Bhabanipur. The same goes for the video from the Sakhawat Memorial School where the counts were done.
And to be on the safe side, the bench has put a stop to any erasing, overwriting or trashing of what is left from the May 4 count without our say-so. We want to have a paper trail if we need to go back and check things later.
To put it in plain terms, here is what the court has put down in writing:
– Put the EVMs and VVPATs from the Bhabanipur booths in a safe place
– See to it that the Sakhawat Memorial School’s CCTV is kept
– Leave the May 4 records alone – no overwriting
– Nothing is to be destroyed without the court’s nod
Legal basis and disclosures
On the record, the bench has said Banerjee has the standing to be here; she ran for the seat and is a voter in the area. All the required parties are in the case per Section 82 and the Rs 2,000 deposit is in. There is no reason to throw out the petition under Section 86(1) just yet.
One thing to note: before we got into it, Justice Kanth was open about the fact that his older brother is a national face for the BJP. Banerjee’s side had no problem with him presiding over the case, and they trust the court will be fair.
The result under challenge
This is about the numbers from Bhabanipur. The official word is that Adhikari put up 73,917 to Banerjee’s 58,812, a 15,105 vote lead. The poll was in April, the counting on May 4.
Having the hardware and the film in hand may well be the difference. Should the court decide to have a close look, it is the state of these records that will tell you how the counting went down.
What happens next
We have asked for notices to be put in front of the respondents. They have a month to put in their affidavits and another to reply. We will be in session on the matter in twelve weeks’ time.
Until then, the preservation order stands. The onus is on the Returning Officer to keep the EVMs, VVPATs and the footage in his care until we say otherwise.
Why it matters for stakeholders
For the electorate, it is a sign that we will be going by what can be proved, not by hunches. For the parties, it means the chain of custody for the EVM-VVPAT system is now under a microscope.
As for the officials, compliance is key. Straying from what the court has put in place will not be overlooked when we come to hear the petition.
