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SC issues notice to WB govt on plea seeking humanitarian relief for people displaced due to alleged post-poll violence
The hearing of the petition has been scheduled to commence from the week beginning June 7 and the top court has also allowed the rights bodies to be made a party to the petition.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the West Bengal government on a plea seeking humanitarian relief for people displaced due to the alleged violence in the state which took place after results of the assembly elections were announced earlier this month.
A bench of justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai issued the notice based on the petition filed by a social worker named Arun Mukherjee and four others.
The top court also allowed the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) to be made parties to the petition, the hearing of which will take place next on June 7.
Based on the request by senior advocate Pinky Anand, appearing for the petitioners, the rights bodies have been added as parties to the case as they have prepared reports on the trauma faced by women and children due to the violence.
Earlier in the day, the NCW sent a notice to the Director General of Police (DGP), West Bengal, and asked him to appear before the body at 12.30pm on May 31. It has also asked for the action taken on crimes against women from April 1, due to the post poll violence in the state, news agency ANI reported.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is spreading fake news on social media and is inciting violence in the state. “Despite a crushing defeat, BJP has no shame left in them and is inciting violence using its fake news machinery,” the party had tweeted earlier on May 6 regarding the BJP’s allegations.
Counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly election was done on May 2, 2021, following which many reports of alleged post-poll violence emerged in the state due to the clashes between the supporters of the TMC and the BJP.
