The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Calcutta high court order for a court-monitored CBI investigation into all cases of rape and murder during the violence that was unleashed after the Assembly elections result was announced in the state in May. The HC direction had come following recommendations of a panel of the National Human Rights Commissions (NHRC).
In its special leave petition, the state government said it did not expect a fair and just investigation by the central agency which was busy framing cases against functionaries of ruling Trinamool Congress.
Earlier, lawyer Anindya Sundar Das, one of the PIL petitioners on whose plea the high court had passed its order on August 19, had filed a caveat in the apex court urging that no order be passed without hearing him if the state or other litigant moved appeals.
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A five-judge bench of the high court, headed by acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal, had ordered a CBI investigation in all alleged cases of heinous crimes in West Bengal after the election results were declared on May 2. The bitterly fought election brought the Trinamool Congress back to power and the BJP has since been claiming massive violence against its workers in the state.
Regarding other criminal cases related to post-poll violence, the high court had directed that they be investigated by a Special Investigation Team under the monitoring of the court.
{{/usCountry}}Regarding other criminal cases related to post-poll violence, the high court had directed that they be investigated by a Special Investigation Team under the monitoring of the court.
{{/usCountry}}The high court bench, which also comprised justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, had observed that there were "definite and proved" allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly polls were not even registered.
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Ordering the setting up of an SIT to probe all other cases, it had said it would include Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar, all IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre.
"All the cases where, as per the report of the committee, the allegations are about murder of a person and crime against women regarding rape/attempt to rape, shall be referred to CBI for investigation,” it had said.
The high court has also directed the NHRC committee, constituted by its chairman on a direction by the five-judge bench, and any other commission or authority and the state to immediately hand over the records of the cases to the CBI to carry forward the probe.
The bench had said it will monitor the investigations by both the CBI and the SIT and asked the two agencies to submit status reports to the court within six weeks.
It had said that the working of the SIT will be overseen by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court for which a separate order will be passed after obtaining his/her consent.
In its ruling, the bench had said heinous crimes such as murder and rape "deserve to be investigated by an independent agency which in the circumstances can only be Central Bureau of Investigation."
The bench had said the State failed to register FIRs even in some cases of alleged murder. "This shows a pre-determined mind to take the investigation into a particular direction."
"Under such circumstances investigation by an independent agency will inspire confidence in all concerned," it had noted.
It had said allegations that the police had not registered a number of cases initially and that some were registered only after the court had intervened or the committee was constituted were found to be true.
It had observed that the facts in relation to the allegations made in the PILs are "even more glaring" as the incidents are not isolated to one place in the state.
The NHRC committee had on July 13 submitted its final report to the court.
An interim report of the NHRC committee had mentioned that Atif Rasheed, a member of the committee, was obstructed from discharging his duty and he and his team members were attacked by some undesirable elements on June 29 in Jadavpur area on the southern fringe of the city, the court noted.
The PILs had alleged that people were subjected to assault, made to flee homes and properties were destroyed during the violence in the wake of the assembly elections and sought impartial probe into the incidents.
(With inputs from agencies)