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Justice Shampa Sarkar of the Calcutta High Court has ordered Suvendu Adhikari to file written statement by November 29 in a matter pertaining to Nandigram election results. The Court was hearing an application for extension of time to submit written statement.

Mamata Banerjee lost Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari in the state polls held early this year. Challenging the same, the Chief Minister approached the Calcutta High Court with an election petition questioning her rival’s victory by a thin margin of 1,965 votes.

The court had earlier directed Adhikari to file the written statement by November 15. His lawyers submitted that the statement has not yet been finalised, but the draft has been prepared.

Advocate General S N Mookerjee, appearing for Banerjee, opposed the submission of the respondent stating that the BJP MLA is intentionally avoiding filing of the written statement only to linger and delay the proceedings.

He further contended that the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates that such proceedings must be completed within a period of six months, especially to restore the faith of the voters in the process of election.

Allowing time to file written statement the Court stated that, "It appears from the application itself that the draft written statement has been prepared. This Court is of the view that the written statement must be filed within two weeks i.e. November 29, 2021 peremptorily.”

A plea filed by Suvendu Adhikari is also pending before the Supreme Court to move the case outside of the state of West Bengal. According Hindustan Times, the Apex Court asked Suvendu Adhikari if the “entire high court of Calcutta, the designated court to hear Mamata Banerjee’s election plea, “is disqualified to hear this petition”.

Cause Title: Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari