Kolkata, Sept. 10 -- The Calcutta High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on a dispute over the election of office-bearers of the Baghbazar Sarbojanin Durgotsav committee. The key issue is whether the president can exercise separate casting votes for five posts where the August 30 election ended in ties.
The election for 14 posts was held during the committee's annual general meeting under the supervision of two special officers. While nine posts produced clear winners, five remained deadlocked. The president then approached the trial court seeking permission to resolve the ties through his casting vote. The order allowing him to do so was challenged before the High Court.
The petitioners, representing Rabi Sankar Sengupta, argued that Rule 37 of the committee's by-laws allows only one casting vote in the event of a tie and does not permit five separate votes. The opposing side maintained that the president could exercise one casting vote for each tied post and defended the trial court's order.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya stressed the urgency of resolving the dispute with Durga Puja barely a month away, observing that the committee's internal differences should not affect the festival.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.