New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday restrained the West Bengal Police from taking coercive action against five state BJP leaders, who allege they have been slapped with false cases to prevent them from holding political gatherings in the state that is set to go to polls next year.
A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the state police not to act against Arun Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Pawan Singh, Sourav Singh and Mukul Roy, while it issued notices on their plea to transfer the probe in all the cases to an “independent investigative agency”.
All have alleged the cases were filed after they left the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) to join BJP.
It has been done to stop them from congregating mass support or forming a strong opposition against the “deprecating, derogatory and harmful decision/policies as well as activities” of the state government, the petitioners submitted in separate pleas.
The bench, however, did not extend similar relief to a sixth BJP leader and party spokesperson Kabir Shankar Bose. In his case, it has sought the report prepared by the Union home ministry after an alleged scuffle between TMC workers and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)’s Special Security Group assigned to Bose.
The report is to be submitted in a sealed cover, the court said, and fixed the hearing in the case in January.
According to Arjun Singh, he is facing 64 criminal cases, his son Pawan is booked in nine while 12 are pending against his nephew, Sourav.
Singh is a sitting MP from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, and was a four-time TMC legislator from Bhatpara assembly seat before he won the general election last year on a BJP ticket. At present, he is one of 12 vice-presidents of the BJP’s West Bengal unit.
There are five cases against Vijayvargiya, who is also a vice-president. During the hearing, his lawyer Prashant Kumar said his client had suddenly become a criminal upon leaving TMC.
“These cases have been registered with the sole intention to bar their entry in West Bengal,” Kumar told the bench.
Roy faces criminal prosecution in 17 cases.
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State acting against us, cases politically motivated, claim BJP leaders
Singh, the lead petitioner before the top court, had assailed the state government for foisting “politically motivated” cases soon after he quit TMC in March 2019. Sixty-four criminal cases were slapped against him by state police without any preliminary enquiry, he alleged.
Initiation of so many cases, immediately after his leaving the party, is a glaring example of how the state machinery and justice administration system are being misused in furtherance of a political vendetta, Singh mentioned in his petition.
Police had booked him in several cases in connection with the same cause of action. Singh even complained to the Calcutta High Court for not holding an effective hearing on his petition in which he sought quashing of one of the FIRs registered against him.
Singh further accused the police of bias after they refused to lodge an FIR on his complaint following a crude bomb attack on him and his son, allegedly by TMC members. The BJP leader was compelled to approach the Chief Judicial Magistrate for remedy, stated Singh’s petition.
“The mode and manner in which the State machinery engaged in purposive prosecution against the petitioner, one after another, as also curtailing his liberty without due process of law would clearly establish the dreadful and vindictive attitude of the state machinery, which is required to be curbed with strict hands by this honourable court,” Singh submitted.
His lawyer, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, drew a parallel with the case of Bharati Ghosh, another political leader, in which the Supreme Court had stepped in to make sure she is not arrested.
In the petition of the sixth BJP leader Bose, he has accused state authorities of “deliberately and intentionally” keeping him in a Covid isolation ward along with other Covid patients for around four hours, which he said, was in utter violation of his right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
There is a “concerted approach” of the State government to “silence the voice of the opposition before the upcoming elections by registering bogus cases against the member of opposition BJP using the police personnel who are under their direct control”.
Bose, who was married to senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerji’s daughter, alleged his victimisation began after he filed for divorce.
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The real fight is between AIMIM AND TMC two
” SECULAR PARTIES “.
They are fighting for
” SECULAR VOTES ”
who are in minority now but will be majority soon.
HINDUS believe in education and science and prosperity in current life and not after life. HINDUS must vote for a party which will not discriminate against HINDUS and protect their religious practices, progressive culture and guard them from RIOTERS .