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HC stops Bengal police from filing charge sheet in Jharkhand MLAs case
Ranchi/Kolkata: The Jharkhand high court on Friday restrained West Bengal Police from filing a charge sheet against three suspended Jharkhand Congress legislators, who were held with a huge amount of cash in Bengal on July 30
Ranchi/Kolkata: The Jharkhand high court on Friday restrained West Bengal Police from filing a charge sheet against three suspended Jharkhand Congress legislators, who were held with a huge amount of cash in Bengal on July 30.
The court, however, directed Bengal police to continue with its probe in the case.
A single bench of justice Sanjeev Dwivedi further sought the Bengal and Jharkhand governments’ responses on a writ petition by the legislators to quash the zero first information report (FIR) against them in Ranchi and fixed December 1 as the next date of hearing.
“The matter has been posted for December 1. The concerned state governments and Congress MLA Jaimangal Singh, who is the complainant of the zero FIR, have been asked to file their replies. Till then, the West Bengal police cannot file its charge sheet,” a lawyer who was part of the proceedings said, seeking anonymity.
“The court, however, allowed Bengal police to continue with their investigation,” the lawyer added.
A top official in Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, said police are yet to receive a copy of the high court order.
“We haven’t received the Jharkhand high court order yet, so we cannot comment on it. Whatever the order is, we will abide by it,” the official said, seeking anonymity.
The three MLAs – Irfan Ansari (Jamtara), Rajesh Kachchap (Khijri) and Naman Bixal Kongari (Kolebira) – were arrested by Bengal police on July 31 after ₹49 lakh in cash was recovered from their vehicle in Howrah district a day earlier. They were granted interim bail by Calcutta high court on August 17.
The trio were also suspended from the party after Congress MLA from Bermor, Jaimangal Singh, alleged they were a part of a conspiracy to topple the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government.
Singh also filed a zero FIR with Argora police, saying the trio had called him to Kolkata and told him that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured him of ₹10 crore and a ministerial berth if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Jharkhand. The trio also offered to pay other legislators a similar amount if they switched sides and brought down the present government, Singh said.
Both Sarma and BJP have denied their role in the case.
The zero FIR was later transferred to Bengal on the basis of which a case under Prevention of Corruption Act was registered in Howrah.
The three legislators, who are also facing proceedings under the anti-defection law in the tribunal court of Jharkhand assembly speaker, continue to stay in Kolkata as part of their bail condition to not leave the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits till their plea for regular bail is heard by the high court on November 10.
“The three legislators had moved the Calcutta high court (with regular bail plea). The single judge had rejected their petition. They later moved the division bench. The next date of hearing is on November 9,” a second CID official said, seeking anonymity.
