Bengal Panchayat Polls: Petition filed against TMC candidate for filing nomination from abroad

A petition was filed at the Calcutta High Court on June 22 alleging that a Trinamool Congress candidate had filed his nomination from Saudi Arabia during the nomination phase.

The petition was filed by CPI(M) alleging that TMC gram panchayat candidate from Kumarjole at Minakhan, North 24 Parganas district, Moinuddin Gazi, filed his nomination from abroad.

However, his nomination has been accepted by the local block development office raising questions on how a candidate could file his nomination from abroad when his personal presence is mandatory at the time of filing it.

The petition has been admitted and the matter is likely to be heard by the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha on Friday.

The petitioner has also submitted a communique from Haj Committee that Moinuddin Gazi has been in Saudi Arabia since June 4 and is scheduled to stay there till July 16. There the petitioner has questioned how his nomination paper was submitted and accepted during that interim period when he was abroad.

The petitioner has also alleged that such a development would not have been possible unless the candidate concerned had a nexus with the local block development office as well as the returning officer.

On June 21 only, Justice Sinha directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on charges against a block development officer of tampering with the nomination documents of two candidates for the forthcoming panchayat elections in West Bengal.

Justice Sinha also observed that since the allegations are against a state government official it will not be wise for a state investigation agency to probe the matter and hence the charge of the probe is handed over to CBI.

She also directed the CBI to submit a detailed report on this count to her court by July 7, which is just a day ahead of the rural civic body polls in the state.

The state government has, however, moved a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on June 22, against the order.