The High Court of Tripura on Thursday directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct the free and fair August 8 three-tier Gram Panchayats elections.

Court sources said that a division bench of the High Court comprising justice Arindam Lodh and justice Sabyasachi Datta Purkayastha asked the SEC to hold the Panchayat elections freely, fairly and transparently.

The High Court passed the orders after the opposition Congress and the CPI(M) earlier filed separate petitions before the court seeking its directions to the SEC to conduct the Gram Panchayats elections freely and fairly after a large number of violent incidents took place across the state while the candidates of the opposition parties tried to submit their nomination papers.

Senior lawyer Purushottam Ray Barman after the High Court order said that the Congress has sought direction from the High court to submit the nomination papers by the candidates through online mode after the SEC turned down the opposition party’s request in this regard.

“The High Court in its order recognised the submission of nomination papers online.

The court said with the advancement of technology and with the over increasing criminalisation of politics, now is the high time that the Election Commission is to bring necessary amendments in law making suitable provisions so that the candidates can file nomination papers online,” Ray Barman told the media referring to the High Court order.

The High Court order said that it is the duty of the Election Commission to conduct the polls maintaining the purity of the elections, he said.  

Ray Barman alleged that out of 35 Panchayat Samities, except 6-7 Panchayat Samities, in most places opposition parties’ candidates are unable to submit the nomination papers as the ruling party members and their goons took control in most blocks.  

Tripura CPI (M) leader and Left Front convener Narayan Kar said the party had approached the High Court after the SEC failed to conduct the process of the panchayat elections freely and fairly and police remained silent spectators despite widespread violent incidents taking place across the state.

Kar alleged that CPI-M candidate Badal Shil for the South Tripura Zilla Parishad was critically injured in a deadly attack by ruling BJP-backed assailants on July 12 at Rajnagar in South Tripura district and next day he succumbed to his injuries.

The Congress and the CPI-M leaders separately claimed that around a hundred candidates, party workers and supporters were injured after the ruling party members and their goons attacked them since the election schedule were announced on July 10.

In the previous Panchayat elections held on July 27, 2019, the ruling BJP had won more than 95 per cent of the seats of which 86 per cent were won unopposed, leading to an outcry from opposition parties.

The opposition parties have been demanding the holding of August 8 panchayat elections with maximum security and allowing the filling of nomination papers through email.

Thursday was the last date of filing of nomination papers in all three tiers of panchayat polls.

There are 6,370 seats in 606 Gram Panchayats, 423 seats in 35 Panchayat Samitis, and 116 seats in eight Zilla Parishads, with 33 per cent reservation for women.