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Supreme Court sets aside HC order for CBI probe in MoS convoy attack in Bengal
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Calcutta HC order for a probe by CBI into an alleged attack on a convoy of Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik in West Bengal in February.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Calcutta high court order for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into an alleged attack on a convoy of Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik in West Bengal in February this year.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud also asked the high court to consider the entirely of the matter after the Bengal government claimed that portions of the affidavit filed by the police did not find mention in the high court’s March 28 order, which concluded that the state is not likely to conduct a fair investigation.
“We set aside the March 28 order and restore the case on the file of the high court,” the bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, said.
It also allowed the state to place the updated status report, which was presented in the top court on Thursday, before the high court.
On February 25, Pramanik’s convoy was allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers when he was on his way to attend a political programme in Cooch Behar district in north Bengal. More than 20 people were arrested after the incident.
Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, later moved the high court, seeking a CBI probe into the incident. On March 28, the high court ordered transfer of the case from the state police to CBI.
Appearing for the Bengal government in the top court, senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan took the judges through the affidavit that was filed in the high court.
Following this, the bench said: “In the course of discussion, the high court has adverted to certain extracts in the affidavit of the Superintendent of Police, Coochbehar district. The high court has not appreciated other aspects of the affidavit as we have been shown the affidavit.”
The bench also noted that 24 people, including workers of the ruling TMC, were arrested in the case. It asked the high court to consider the further material to be placed by the state and then take a view on whether the state had made out a case of fair investigation or whether a CBI investigation was still needed.
Adhikari’s counsel and senior advocate PS Patwalia read out portions of the high court order to explain why the petitioner did not expect a fair probe in the case. He said that Cooch Behar police refused to register an FIR on the basis of a complaint by a CISF official on the date of the incident and instead lodged it two days later. The case was a serious one as the minister’s car was attacked and petrol bombs were hurled at the convoy, he said.
Welcoming the top court’s order, TMC Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said: “If federal agencies are asked to investigate each and every case relating to law and order, then what will the state’s own police force do? If every case goes to CBI, the BJP will be encouraged to approach courts with false allegations. We see the Supreme Court’s order as a blow to this tendency of the BJP.”
BJP leaders were busy with preparations for Union minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state on Friday and were not available for a comment.
