‘Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari’: Calcutta HC lists plea for next Thursday

Kolkata, June 18: The Calcutta High Court on Friday deferred hearing in the petition filed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee challenging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari's Nandigram win in the 2021 state assembly elections to June 24.

"Let the matter be listed next Thursday. In the meantime, the Registrar shall file a report before this court as to whether the petition has been filed in conformity with the Representation of People Act," the Calcutta HC directed in its Friday order.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, in her petition, has accused Adhikari of committing corrupt practises as envisaged under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The alleged corrupt practices included "bribery, undue influence, spreading enmity", according to her petition. Banerjee also claimed in her plea that discrepancies were committed in the counting process.

The Election Commission had declared Adhikari the winner and the Trinamool Congress supremo the runner-up in the fiercely contested election for the Nandigram constituency.

Alleging discrepancies and malpractices in the counting process and refusal of requests for recounting of votes by the returning officer, Banerjee had said following declaration of the results that the doors of the court would be knocked on the issue. BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari is at present the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly.