Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India to appoint Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma as an election observer for the West Bengal Assembly elections.
The petitioner has alleged that the officer is “highly partisan” and was threatening political candidates.
Referring to Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the petitioner pointed out that an observer is supposed to “watch the conduct of the elections”, and is envisaged as a “neutral institutional safeguard, whose presence is meant to reinforce public confidence in the conduct of elections.”
The petitioner contended that the conduct of Ajay Pal Sharma “stands in stark violation of the functions of the observer.”
The plea seeks appropriate directions from the Court to set aside the appointment and to ensure that election observers remain independent and impartial in the discharge of their duties.
