Kolkata, April 16 -- The Calcutta High Court on Thursday quashed the State's requisition of eight school buses from South Point School for election duty, terming the move "arbitrary" and lacking procedural fairness.
Justice Krishna Rao set aside the order issued under Section 160 of the Representation of the People Act, which empowers authorities to requisition vehicles for polls. The buses had been directed to report on April 27 after school hours and were to be released after polling on April 29, effectively leaving only April 28 as a functional school day.
The court questioned the state's decision-making process, observing that an internal decision taken earlier to engage school buses was not communicated to the institution. It said that if such sweeping power existed, subsequent notifications would be redundant.
The counsel appearing for the school argued that the institution, particularly its junior section, would face disruption. He pointed out that a representation seeking exemption had been made on March 31, ahead of the school reopening on April 6.
The state, however, defended its action, citing a shortage of vehicles due to the deployment of over 100 CAPF companies and election personnel, and maintained that prior notice to the school was not mandatory under the law.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.