HC admits Mamata's plea against Suvendu's win, asks EC to preserve all records

Admitting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s petition for hearing, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that notice be served upon Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, whose victory from Nandigram in the assembly elections was challenged by her.

Justice Shampa Sarkar directed that Banerjee’s election petition will be taken up for hearing on August 12. The judge directed that in the meantime, notice be served upon Adhikari, a BJP MLA, and other parties in the matter.

Also read: Decoding Mamata’s pick of Nandigram for Bengal Assembly polls

Justice Sarkar held that as per a report received by her bench from the high court administration, the election petition was filed in compliance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

The court also directed the Election Commission to preserve all records and devices related to the polls in Nandigram. The matter was reassigned to the bench of Justice Sarkar by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal after Justice Kausik Chanda recused himself from hearing the Trinamool Congress chiefs petition.

Also read: Nandigram: A close-to-heart, layered battle for Mamata, Suvendu

As per the result declared by the Election Commission, Adhikari defeated Banerjee by a margin of 1,956 votes.