The Supreme Court declined to entertain a petition challenging the Election Commission’s mass transfer of IPS officers and senior bureaucrats ahead of Assembly elections.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition challenging the decision of the Election Commission to transfer “wholesale” 63 IPS officers and 16 senior bureaucrats, including the Director General of Police and the Chief Secretary, in the “garb of poll-preparedness”.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the petition raised “substantial questions of law”, but declined to intervene on the ground that elections were scheduled just days ahead.

Petitioner alleges misuse of powers, violation of federalism

“The transfer is an attempt to take over the executive machinery of the State by the Election Commission at the behest of the ruling dispensation of the Central government. The wholesale dismantling of administrative machinery on the eve of the Assembly elections is not a bona-fide exercise of power… Such actions create an administrative vacuum and violate the principle of federalism,” senior advocate Kalyan Bandhopadhyay and advocate Vivek Singh, for petitioner Anarka Kumar Nag, submitted.

They said the transfers, including that of the Principal Secretary (Home and Hill Affairs) were made even without consulting the State of West Bengal.

Challenge to EC powers and legal provisions

The petition said the Election Commission (EC) has made such “illegality and arbitrary” transfers in other poll-bound States in contravention of Article 324 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

It said the EC had banned the transferred officers from being posted to any election-sensitive posts during the duration of the Assembly polls. No reason was given for such an instruction.

Chief Justice Kant said all-India officers should not focus only on plum posts.

Plea to examine issue after elections

The petition argued that the “whimsical” mass transfers, smacking of mala fide, were meant to “paralysis the bureaucracy of West Bengal.

Officers without any taint were transferred with an unreasonable instruction not to assign them any election duties, Bandhopadhyay submitted, urging the court to list the case after elections to decide the question of law.

Published on April 16, 2026