The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the anticipatory bail petition of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election agent S.K. Supian, accused of killing a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party at Chillogram in Nandigram after the declaration of Assembly election results.

The Trinamool Congress leader allegedly killed BJP supporter Debabrata Maity, during the post-poll violence that erupted in West Bengal.

A Bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Abhay S. Oka noted that it has imposed several conditions and permitted the appeal.

Earlier on February 4, an Apex Court Bench comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice B.R. Gavai had reserved its order on a petition challenging the Calcutta High Court order, rejecting Supian’s anticipatory bail as the documents filed by Supian’s counsel were not on record.

Upon the defeat of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram Assembly seat, violence erupted in the constituency and neighbouring areas.

The CBI was probing the death of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, who was allegedly attacked in Nandigram after a day of declaring the Assembly election results and succumbed to his injuries at SSKM Hospital.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the arrest was politically motivated and Suvendu Adhikari had declared before hand that the petitioner would be arrested, which he was. He further argued that the mobile location of the petitioner was 5 km from the location of the alleged incident.

ASG Aman Lekhi submitted that the co-accused were already in custody and by the reason of facts the petitioner was not entitled for different treatment. He further argued that just because he was not included in the initial charge sheets does not mean he is not guilty.

He also clarified that the video was only to grasp the gravity of situation and not as evidence against the petitioner and cautioned the court against granting anticipatory bail as it was a Section 302 IPC investigation

Senior Advocate Paramjit Singh Patwalia appearing on behalf of the slain BJP worker’s wife submitted that Supian be denied bail as he was a powerful person and can have an effect on the investigation if he gets bail.

The Tripura government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in response to the plea by Advocate Ehtesham Hashmi, who contended that he had personally visited riot-affected areas of the state, along with other Delhi-based Advocates and published a fact-finding report about the visit.

Tripura government said the petition seeking intervention in hate crimes that allegedly took place in October in Tripura, was “selective” in nature since the petitioner was silent, when a “larger scale communal violence” occurred in West Bengal in May, 2021 after the West Bengal Assembly elections.

In its affidavit filed before the apex court, the Tripura government said that a series of violent incidents had shook West Bengal before and after the State assembly elections, which was “larger in magnitude” compared to Tripura violence, but the public interest of the petitioner was aroused only selectively during the latter.

“No individuals or group of individuals professionally functioning as public-spirited persons can selectively invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court to achieve some apparent, but undisclosed motive,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit was filed in response to the plea by Advocate Ehtesham Hashmi, who contended that he had personally visited riot-affected areas of the state, along with other Delhi-based Advocates and published a fact-finding report about the visit.

The following findings were inter alia published in the report:

a) 12 Mosques were damaged;

b) 9 shops owned by Muslim businessmen were damaged;

c) 3 houses owned by Muslims were vandalised.

The above findings were arrived at by the petitioner after meeting with families and persons who were at the receiving end of the vandalism, the plea said.

However, Hashmi said in his petition that instead of taking action against the miscreants and rioters, police took action against those, who spoke against the same.

It was also submitted that two of the Delhi Advocates, who were part of a fact-finding team, were sent notices under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code, alleging that their social media posts promoted enmity between communities.

Further, it was also put to the Bench that police had invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against 102 persons, including journalists, for reporting and writing on violence.

The state government has rebutted Hashmi’s petition, contending that allegations against the state started with planted and pre-planned articles in tabloids.

“Planted and pre-planned articles started emerging in few tabloids, which becomes the basis of such a PIL subsequently or the so-called public spirited persons send their own teams to generate a self-serving report. Such reports, so generated, thereafter becomes the cause of action, as well as material based upon which the petitions are filed,” the state affidavit said.

It further alleged that the fact-finding report was based on incorrect facts, aimed towards creating disaffection between communities and the state in particular.

The state also pointed out that a suo motu case concerning the same subject was already pending before the Tripura High Court and that the petitioner should have approached the High Court first, instead of moving the Supreme Court. 

In a major setback for the Mamata Banerjee government, the five-judge Supreme Court bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged cases of murder and crimes against women during the violence that followed the elections in West Bengal.

This follows recommendations on the same by the NHRC team that visited trouble-torn areas. A court order was needed, because the state government has withdrawn its permission to CBI to probe new cases in West Bengal. Over and above, the court also ordered that other post poll violence-related cases will be investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The court order said: “All cases as per the report of NHRC committee, where allegations are about murder of persons or crime against women regarding rape or attempt to rape shall be referred to CBI for investigation.”

The Bench also decided on the composition of SIT. Three IPS officers of West Bengal cadre – Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranvir Kumar, will make up the SIT. The working of the SIT will also be overseen by a retired judge of the Supreme Court.

Both investigations will be monitored by the Calcutta High Court, but an order on SIT findings will be given later, following consultation with the retired top court judge, who will be in charge.

The bench also ordered the state to hand over all records of cases to CBI. To the chagrin of the state administration and to the delight of NHRC and, of course, the Bharatiya Janata Party, vanquished at the hustings, the court is viewing the issue with utter seriousness. The court made it clear that it will not tolerate any obstruction in the probe process.

“It shall be a court-monitored investigation and any obstruction in the course of investigation by anyone shall be viewed seriously,” said the Court order.

The case moves out of the five-judge bench and will now be handled by a Division Bench, said the court. The next hearing is set for October 4.

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The court will also deal with the issue of a complaint against Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner (South Suburban), Rashid Munir Khan. The complaint was of inaction and non-registration of complaint made by Atif Rasheed, vice-chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities and also a member of the NHRC team probing the violence.

The court asked the policeman to showcause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him, despite the court’s clear instruction that the team should be given full protection by the police. This issue, however, will be dealt with later.

Atif Rasheed had alleged that he and his team members were attacked while visiting the Jadavpur area of Kolkata. However, Rashid Munir Khan had said that no police complaint was lodged by Rasheed or any NHRC member.

The bench was unanimous in their orders on the issue, though three separate judgments were delivered. The judgments concurred.

The issue has been taken out of the overall context of other related issues that are now being dealt with by the same court – after the Supreme Court sent it back to the Calcutta High Court – and appeals and complaints from people who had been allegedly chased out of their homes and not allowed to return are being dealt separately.

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To this end, the court had, on May 31, formed a three-member committee, whose purpose was to rehabilitate persons displaced in the post-poll violence. That committee comprised Member Secretary of West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (WBSLSA), the West Bengal Human Rights Commission and the NHRC.

From the report garnered, what the court got was this: “The number of persons reported to have suffered as per complaints received is 3,243. In a number of cases, the complaints were referred to the concerned Police station, but no response was received.

“This inaction by the police had purportedly resulted in the court also directing the NHRC intervention, with necessary security. The view of NHRC was that there was the “law of ruler,” instead of the “rule of law.”

The Calcutta High Court today directed the formation of a three-member committee to help those persons displaced in the post violence in the state to go back to their homes. The committee will comprise nominees from the State Human Rights Commission, National Human Rights Commission and Member Secretary of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority. This was decided by the five-judge bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukherji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar.

The court directed that those who were not being allowed to go back to their homes have to communicate this to the West Bengal Legal Services Authority (WBLSA) on the official email address of the WBLSA. The committee shall then contact the concerned police officer of the locality to ensure that persons displaced by post poll violence in West Bengal are able to return to their houses.

The order was passed in a petition alleging that around 200 persons who were displaced due to the violence continue to face threat to their lives due to which they have not been able to return to their homes.

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Earlier, the High Court had warned that serious action would be taken against officers who fail to respond to allegations of post poll violence in West Bengal after the All India Trinamool Congress secured a clean victory in the 2021 state assembly elections. 

The court today issued notice in this regard and has set June 7 as the next date of hearing.

Senior Advocate Pinky Anand, arguing for the petitioners, claimed that social workers have been “harassed” in the post-poll violence in West Bengal.

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She said that various commissions, such as the National Commission for Women have reported on the condition in relief camps. She asked for the commission to be made party respondents. Others crying to be made party, said the counsel, was the National Human Rights Commission.

Adding to the spate of petitions in the Supreme Court, crying foul over alleged violence in West Bengal after the announcement of election results on May 2, another PIL has reached the top court, mentioned by Senior Advocate Pinky Anand, alleging that 1,00,000 people have been “displaced” in the state.

Other petitions have also alleged that BJP sympathizers and members have been allegedly targeted by Trinamool Congress “goons” and there was a situation of “terror” in the state.
The Bench of Justices Vineet Saran and B.R. Gavai has agreed to hear the petition next week.

The petition has been filed by Arun Mukerjee, along with other businessmen, social workers, and lawyers, seeking direction for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the incidents of political violence.

The plea alleged: “Police proves to be a mere spectator in the entire episode, discouraging and threatening victims from filing FIR’s, non-investigation of cases, inaction in incidents where cognizable offenses have been committed in presence of the police authorities, non-provision of security to those facing threats to life, etc.”

The petition further sought the following directions:
I) to the Central Government to protect the state from internal disturbance and to ensure that the government in the state is carried on, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

II) to provide immediate relief to the internally displaced persons affected due to post-poll violence by setting up camps, make provision for food, medicines, pandemic resources, and make appropriate medical facilities accessible to them in light of the Covid pandemic.

III) to the Central Government to constitute an inquiry commission to assess the scale and causes of the exodus as well as direct the West Bengal Government to provide long-term relief to the internally displaced persons.

IV) to set up an alternative helpline number, monitored by Central forces to respond to SOS calls and also record complaints/FIRs of internally displaced persons within and outside the state of West Bengal.

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V) to deploy Central protection forces, including armed forces, for the restoration of law and order in the state of West Bengal.

VI) to set up and/or establishing a fast-track court to adjudicate the matters pertaining to the prosecution of any individual or organization involved in the commission of heinous offences.

Source: ILNS

By Sujit Bhar

The elections are done and dusted in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress (TMC) has earned a thumping victory, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been completely swept away, despite a boost of 74 seats, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will now settle down to survey the level of destruction these polls have caused to the state.

As the first order of work, she has issued several instructions regarding Covid SOPs in the state. They are:

• All local trains be shut down.
• RT-PCR test a must for all those coming by flights to Bengal.
• Markets to remain open from 7 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm.
• Banks will remain open from 10 am to 2 pm
• Private and government offices will operate at 50 percent their strength.
• Jewellery shops to open from 12 pm to 3 pm.
• Metro rail and government buses to operate at 50 percent of their strength
• All long distance and inter-state trains and bus passengers will require a negative RT-PCR report. Random checking will be done.
• Tea gardens to operate at 50 percent of their strength.

When this correspondent had visited the city of Kolkata during the first phase of the pandemic, in the second half of March, the impending doom was palpable. Masks were hard to come by, the markets were slowly reopening and election road shows and rallies were growing. The infections were growing too. Now that the data will be reorganised, resorted, Bengal could shoot up among the top two-three states in infections. The latent fear is unbelievable. Death is no more something that a friend calls to tell about his/her relative. It is next door, it is in the house.

To be blamed are political parties—both the BJP and the TMC—as well as the Election Commission of India (ECI). The basic purpose of the ECI is to hold free and fair elections, which will also be safe for the public of India. In ordering an eight-phase election process within this killer pandemic, the ECI failed to deliver on its constitutional obligation. In the Supreme Court’s rejection of the ECI’s plea that the media may not be allowed to report judges’ oral observations and stick only to the judgments, the top court has implied that the ECI has the responsibility of delivering on its promise to the public, first, before even trying to criticise critiques.

The other thing that this correspondent had noticed during his visit in late March was that all government offices were drained of workers. All had been drawn out by the state election commission to work in the election process. They were either to be polling officers, or sorting agents, or engaged in one of the millions of little jobs that a poll process requires. This is a legal process and the ECI had every right to do so.

Or did it? Withdrawing people from the Income Tax office was one thing. But withdrawing workers from the health and sanitation departments, and from municipalities within a raging Covid-19 pandemic, if anything, was almost a criminal act. Just because it is a constitutional authority and enjoys a certain degree of immunity, it does not essentially mean that the ECI can endanger the lives of the people.

An election process is an important part of democracy, but it cannot be the be all and end all of a country’s ethos. The right to life is a fundamental right and even a constitutional authority does not have the authority to infringe upon that right.

As the infections started shooting up, even during the first phase, the acute shortage of healthcare workers was felt across the state. The fact that the insensitive ECI spread the process across eight phases, meant that many workers were stuck in useless work, leaving important disinfection and other work unattended.

Not just workers. The extensive election process also drew out of the system thousands of utility vehicles, such as taxis, buses, etc. These were the vehicles the common man missed while seeking frantically a ride with a loved one to a hospital, when Covid-19 made breathing impossible. Of what good are the polls if the nation dies before it? What moral right did the ECI have to hold on to these vehicles?

Aiding and abetting the ECI’s insensitive approach were the political parties, who paid for thousands, even lakhs, to come to rallies, displaying a vulgar show of muscle. These rallies grew to be so big and dirty that the entire Covid-19 sanitation process was rendered redundant. The state does not have the wherewithal to re-sanitise the entire state, when the second wave is upon it and when possibly a third wave is at the door.

The end result has been that the common man has borne the brunt of it all. Now, alongside the fear of infection has grown the fear of violence. It doesn’t matter which party has initiated the violence. What is in question is whether the general public voted for democracy and peace or for a consistent state of fear and a disabled administration which looks after its political allies and workers only.

Infection numbers have always been doctored in West Bengal, as in most part of India—even as hearse after hearse exited hospitals in the first phase, and even as burials took place in the dead of night, the government refused to give out the right numbers. This is a pattern being followed across India, be it a Congress-ruled state, or a BJP-ruled state or any other party for that matter. Somehow, the TMC was no different. Now that the second wave has turned out to be a tsunami, that health administration across the country has collapsed, that vaccines are in short supply, it becomes imperative for a newly-elected party to show some grit, some spine, use some grey cells.

The first objective for Mamata Banerjee would be to assure the people of Bengal that they will neither die of violence, nor of Covid-19. While the latter may be a fanciful thought, the former can be controlled. Nobody needs a dead man in the house, killed through political vendetta or through Covid.

The shutting down of local trains seems a strange move. Most of those who come to Kolkata on business and trade, come via local trains. If not as much of a central nervous system as in Mumbai, Kolkata’s suburban trans bring in all the vegetables, the fish, the rice, the lentils, even some small time doctors and, most importantly, daily wage earning workers. The city itself is under-supplied at any given point of time. The suburbs are where the resources are.

More importantly, in these Covid times, access to the main hospitals of the states—mostly all in Kolkata—can be done via local trains. A stoppage here will kill livelihoods and lives. That, probably, is a wrong decision to start with. Parties in the state need to get over petty squabbles. The polls are over, it is time for development, for working with and for the people of the state.

BJP’s all-India president JP Nadda’s post-poll visit to the state could have been to apply a calming balm. Instead, his reactions did not seem to have moved from the pre-poll bravado and chest-thumping, exactly the instigators to further violence.

As if Nadda was not enough, the centre flew down V Muraleedharan, minister of state for external affairs, apparently to visit the house of party worker Biswajit Mahesh, who was killed in the post-poll violence at his village Markundachak. His car was attacked, allegedly by “TMC goons” and he cut short his visit and flew back. What purpose did this serve, exactly, in a pandemic ravaged state?

There have been threats to local MLAs that they will face the ire of the BJP when they visit Delhi. Is this the reaction to a pandemic devastated state of a national party? Is this the way to ensure people’s safety?

It has to be seen if Mamata Banerjee decides to choose peace as an alternative. She has earned a massive mandate. The people of the state have kept their faith in her, not just to thwart the BJP, but to ensure safety and health. Mamata has to ensure some out-of-the-box thinking. It is a good thing that oxygen producing industries—such as the Durgapur Steel Plant—are in close proximity to the state’s capital and other areas. A feeder line, with adequate tankers, should be put in place. Mamata needs to learn from the disasters of Delhi and Mumbai, and how the two mega cities are gasping for breath.

The CM, in her third term, has to realise that none of the top hospitals of Kolkata have oxygen plants on the premises. Ventilators were in short supply earlier, and there is no reason to assume that they will suddenly be plentiful now. There needs to be a total overhaul of municipal facilities. Dead bodies have been lying in homes for up to 21 hours before some municipal or private vehicle cares to remove it. Dead bodies have been lying alongside recovering Covid-19 patients in hospitals for hours on end, and a major hospital—the Peerless Hospital, on the eastern fringe of the city—has just shut shop, with most of its staff having tested positive.

If these are not worrying bits of statistics, what is? The people of West Bengal, however alive they are to political developments, have probably had enough of this. They want to live, they want their families and loved ones to live.

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Then Mamata will have to address another elephant in the room—the economic revival of the state. She had done a humongous amount of social good in her second stint as chief minister. But she failed to provide any impetus to industry and trade. That has been the most neglected part of the economy, especially the MSME sector, in which the state has been foremost in the country. That is the big priority. A life without a livelihood will be worse than death.

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by BJP leader and Advocate Gaurav Bhatia seeking directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation to launch an inquiry and investigate the instances of rampant violence, murders and rapes that have been carried out by the workers of TMC across the State of West Bengal.

The petitioner seeks directions to the CBI to file a detailed status report qua the FIR’s registered, arrests made and steps taken by it against the perpetrators of the crime mentioned in the application.
The instant application has been filed in the pending Criminal Writ Petition 185 of 2018, before the Supreme Court named gaurav Bhatia Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.

That application states that one Avijit Sarkar, in a video uploaded on Facebook, moments before his death, highlighted how the TMC workers not only ransacked his house and NGO, but also mercilessly killed voiceless puppies. Mr. Sarkar in his video specically blamed TMC leaders for the attack and his eventual death.

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The application alleges that as per media reports, this violence is directly sponsored by ruling party through its workers who are seeking revenge against the citizenry of the State which has exercised its democratic right of voting for a party other than TMC.
The plea also alleges that the perpetrators of crime who should be booked and punished in accordance with law are being protected by the ruling dispensation.