Court Orders Affidavits in Mamata Banerjee Election Petition

A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has instructed all parties involved to submit affidavits in response to Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s legal challenge against the Bhabanipur assembly constituency voting outcomes.

KOLKATA — A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed all parties, including West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, to file affidavits responding to the election petition filed by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, challenging the results of the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in South Kolkata.

At Bhabanipur, Mamata Banerjee, contesting as the Trinamool candidate, was defeated by象征性 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of a little over 15,000 votes.

Earlier this month, Mamata Banerjee approached the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Gaurang Kant with an election petition challenging the Bhabanipur results.

After the preliminary hearing, Justice Kant observed that his bench was prima facie satisfied that the petition complied with the requirements of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The petition was accepted and will now proceed to a detailed hearing in the coming days.

Justice Kant directed all parties, including CM Adhikari, to file affidavits within the next four weeks. The next hearing has been scheduled for 12 weeks from now.

He also ordered the preservation of CCTV footage from the counting centre, as well as from the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines used at all polling booths in Bhabanipur.

At the beginning of the hearing, Justice Kant asked Mamata Banerjee’s counsel, four-time Trinamool Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee, whether he had any objection to Justice Kant hearing the matter, considering that his elder brother is a national spokesman of the BJP. Kalyan Banerjee said he had no objection, after which Justice Kant proceeded with the hearing.

The majority of Trinamool candidates who were defeated in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections have opted not to challenge the results in court, effectively accepting the people’s mandate despite repeated calls from Mamata Banerjee to pursue legal remedies.

According to available records, 203 of the 211 defeated Trinamool candidates, accounting for 96.20%, have not filed election petitions before the Calcutta High Court. So far, only eight petitions have been filed, including the one by Mamata Banerjee.

Future Outlook

The legal challenge launched by Mamata Banerjee will test the transparency of the Bhabanipur electoral process over the coming 12 weeks. As the court examines the preserved digital evidence, electronic voting records, and specific voter verification paper trails, the outcome could establish critical legal precedents for future assembly challenges across India. Meanwhile, the state government faces distinct structural tasks, including administering the newly tightened Rs 2,165.4 crore minority affairs budget and ensuring fiscal accountability.

FAQs

What did the Calcutta High Court order regarding the Bhabanipur election petition?

The Calcutta High Court instructed all named respondents, including Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, to formally file defensive affidavits within four weeks. The court also ordered authorities to lock down and preserve all security camera videos, EVM records, and VVPAT tracking data connected to the constituency.

By what margin was Mamata Banerjee defeated in the Bhabanipur election?

Mamata Banerjee lost the Bhabanipur assembly constituency seat to the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate by an official margin spanning slightly higher than 15,000 votes.

How many defeated Trinamool Congress candidates have filed official election petitions?

Out of 211 unsuccessful Trinamool Congress political candidates, only eight individuals chose to submit election petitions. The remaining 203 candidates, representing 96.20% of the defeated group, completely bypassed legal challenges.

Did the counsel for Mamata Banerjee raise any conflict-of-interest objections against the judge?

No. Legal counsel Kalyan Banerjee stated on the record that there was absolutely no objection to Justice Gaurang Kant presiding over the litigation, despite the judge’s brother serving openly as a national spokesperson for the rival political party.