Don't use court to hit headlines, gain politically: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court on Monday expressed its displeasure over several petitions being filed in connection with the upcoming panchayat polls in the state.

The Bench, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, observed that the petitioners should not use the court as a medium to hit the headlines or for political gains. "Every one of you (here) is politically affiliated. But please stop using this court for it. Everyone wants to be in the headlines. Don't make us the medium," the chief justice said during a hearing today.

Justice Sivagnanam made this observation while hearing a PIL filed by an individual demanding dismissal of Rajiva Sinha as the West Bengal State Election Commissioner. The petition was dismissed by the court.


In the last few days, several cases related to panchayat polls have been filed by political parties, mainly the opposition parties - BJP, Congress and CPI-M. Starting from seeking change of date of the panchayat polls, deployment of CAPF, violence in connection with nomination, irregularities during nomination, and even non-deployment of CAPF following the high court's order, many cases have been filed.