The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday stayed an order of the Superintendent of Police of the Election Commission, who had instructed the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to take preventive action against around 800 citizens whom he described as “rioters” ahead of the first phase of polling in the eastern state.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen held that the Superintendent of Police “erred in issuing a blanket directive by treating some citizens as troublemakers” and stayed the April 21 order till June 30. The order was based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Muhammad Danish Farooqui, claiming that people’s fundamental right to liberty would be affected by the order.
“In our prima facie view, the Superintendent of Police in the Office of the Chief Executive of West Bengal erred in issuing a blanket direction by treating some citizens as ‘trouble makers’. The court ordered as an interim measure, we consider it appropriate to stay the effect and operation of the impugned order dated April 21 till the last day of June 2026 or until further order whichever is earlier,” it said.
The petitioner was represented by senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who is also a TMC MP. “The IEC has no power, jurisdiction or authority to summon certain persons as ‘rioters’ and issue directions to the police authorities to take steps against them,” he said in court, adding that the list contains the names of around 800 people and many of these people are elected representatives, such as Members of Parliament, members of local councils, councilors and members of panchayat and municipal bodies.
Senior human rights advocate D S Naidu, representing ECI, said that the entire endeavor of the poll panel is to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections. “In order to do the same, the police authorities concerned are reminded of their duties. ECI has not directed the police authorities to do anything without following due process,” Naidu said.
In his memorandum dated April 21 – titled ‘Preventive action against persons involved in voter intimidation – Attached list of rioters – Immediate directions to all field staff’ – to the DGP, the Superintendent of Police, OED, said: “It has been observed from various quarters that the persons named in the attached list are actively involved in voter intimidation and creating disturbance in the electoral process in the Assembly constituencies and concerned police stations. You are requested to kindly issue directions to the officers concerned to take preventive action Appropriate action against all such persons after exercising due diligence and in accordance with the law.
Following the directive, Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel deployed for election security mission in West Bengal visited homes of people tagged as ‘rioters’, warned them publicly and then organized flag marches in their neighborhood while urging locals to vote freely.
On Tuesday night, a CAPF team visited Ismail Sheikh’s residence in Murshidabad district, asked him to come out and warned him against any involvement in election-related violence. They also urged his family to ensure that he stays away from any disturbance. They then addressed Sheikh’s neighbors using a loudspeaker, asking them not to intimidate the local “dadas”.
Around the same time, another team in Birbhum district visited the residence of Sandeep Ghosh, who was also labeled a ‘troublemaker’. Although Ghosh was not at home, the CAPF team advised his family to warn him not to intimidate anyone. Outside Ghosh’s house, the CAPF team made the same announcement. They then marched through his neighborhood, urging locals to speak up if anyone threatened them.
The exercise, dubbed Operation Trust, was conducted at several locations across the state. The West Bengal Sector of the CRPF shared videos of the exercise on its official X account.
Based on the criminal records, the district magistrate’s office, through the West Bengal Chief Executive, shared the identities of some residents with criminal records with the CAPF’s District Force Coordinator (DFC), people familiar with the matter said.
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Meanwhile, the Poll Committee amended its earlier order imposing restrictions on movement of motorcycles and allowed the use of two-wheelers by service providers such as Ola, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy and other home delivery agencies, as well as office goers with proper identity cards.
In a directive dated April 20, the state chief executive banned riding motorcycles between 6pm and 6am two days before each phase of polling, with exceptions only for medical emergencies or family functions.
On Tuesday, the EC also requested certificates from all police stations where elections were scheduled to be held in the first phase on Thursday, confirming that there were no foreigners in their areas. “Technically, even tourists and relatives are not allowed to stay in any constituency that will go to the polls in the next 48 hours,” said a senior EC official who requested anonymity.
However, hoteliers in Darjeeling, a popular tourist destination in North Bengal, said no such orders have been issued asking tourists to vacate hotels and accommodation.
