The Calcutta High Court has allowed the West Bengal State Election Commission to erase stored data from most reserved electronic voting machines, clearing a logistical hurdle ahead of municipal elections expected in November and December, while directing that machines used in specified earlier polls remain protected.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Rabindra V Bhug and Justice Omnarayan Rai passed the direction in a case brought by the State Election Commission, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin. The commission had approached the court after reporting that it did not have enough EVMs to conduct the forthcoming municipal elections.
The court’s permission does not cover EVMs used in the last Kolkata Municipal Corporation election in three wards or those used in the Contai municipality election. Data from the remaining stored machines may be erased, subject to the conditions set by the court, the report said.
The decision comes as the commission begins preparations for elections that it told the court could be held in November and December. The report said polling is expected in seven municipal corporations and municipalities, including the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations.
The EVM issue had arisen because several machines were being retained under earlier court directions. With the data on those machines preserved, the commission faced a reduced pool of equipment for new municipal polls. The latest order allows it to restore part of that capacity while retaining records connected to the specified elections.
The dispute has wider implications for municipal administration in West Bengal, where elected boards are absent in a number of urban local bodies. According to the report, around 15 municipalities across 12 districts are currently being run by administrators rather than elected boards. The situation is particularly prolonged in Howrah, where the last municipal election was held in 2013 and the elected board’s term ended in 2018.
Municipal elections determine the elected bodies responsible for essential city functions, including local roads, sanitation, drainage, waste management and neighbourhood-level civic administration. In the absence of elected boards, these responsibilities are handled through administrative arrangements, making the timing and conduct of polls significant for the functioning of urban local governments.
The report said preparations for municipal elections began after messages from Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari’s government regarding polls in several municipalities. The State Election Commission subsequently informed the court that it could conduct the proposed November-December elections if the EVM availability problem was addressed.
The court’s order resolves the immediate data-storage constraint identified by the commission but leaves the excluded machines protected. The next major step is for the commission to complete its election preparations and announce the schedule for the municipal corporations and municipalities included in the proposed polling exercise.
