Three CPI(M) leaders, including Left Front chairman Biman Bose, were on Friday directed by the Calcutta High Court to state why they would not be held guilty of contempt for making allegedly unsavoury comments against its order terming the police firing on March 14, 2006 at Nandigram unconstitutional and unjustified.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice SS Nijjar and Justice PC Ghosh directed the three leaders to file affidavits before the court within six weeks and the matter would come up for hearing after eight weeks from Friday.
The Bar Library Club and The Calcutta High Court Bar Association had moved two petitions seeking contempt proceedings against Binoy Konar and Shyamal Chakraborty, both central committee members of CPI(M), apart from Bose for making allegedly defamatory comments at a public meeting.
Appearing for the three leaders, counsel Subroto Mukhopadhyay submitted that his clients were yet to receive copies of the petitions, following which the court directed that these be served to them.
The three leaders had at a public meeting on November 17, allegedly derided the court order that had also directed the West Bengal government to pay Rs five lakh as compensation to each of the families of the 14 who died in the police action on March 14.
The same division bench had on November 16, while rejecting the state government's arguments justifying the firing, directed that the CBI inquiry into it would continue and asked the agency to submit its report within a month.
{{/usCountry}}The same division bench had on November 16, while rejecting the state government's arguments justifying the firing, directed that the CBI inquiry into it would continue and asked the agency to submit its report within a month.
{{/usCountry}}It had also directed that a compensation of Rs two lakh should be given to those raped and Rs one lakh to the injured.