Calcutta HC rejects Kalyan Banerjee's plea on transfer of officers

The Calcutta High Court has rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) challenging the large-scale transfer of administrative and police officers by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Senior counsel and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee had moved the division bench of Chief Justice Sujay Paul, arguing that the sudden reshuffle of hundreds of officials was crippling the state’s administrative machinery. 

The legal battle follows a massive administrative shake-up that saw the transfer of 184 police officials, including officers-in-charge and inspectors-in-charge of 173 police stations, in a single day. This was preceded by the shifting of 83 Block Development Officers (BDOs) across 18 districts. Since the Model Code of Conduct came into effect on March 15, the ECI has overhauled the state’s top brass, including the Chief Secretary, Director-General of Police, and several District Magistrates, sparking a fierce confrontation between the state government and the Center.

While the TMC maintains that these transfers are "politically motivated" and designed to favor the opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party has defended the move as a standard electoral procedure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his recent visit to Kolkata, emphasized that such reshuffles are routine in any election-bound state to ensure neutrality.