Key Takeaways
- The Calcutta High Court ordered an NIA probe into Ram Navami violence after a PIL.
- State officials filed petitions attempting to halt the investigation, prompting criticism from the bench.
- The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s directive, demanding full cooperation and document submission.
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Monday, while hearing a fresh petition against NIA‘s probe into the alleged violence during Ram Navami processions in different parts of West Bengal, expressed dissatisfaction
over the state government’s alleged efforts to stop the investigation by the central agency, Court sources said.
The single-bench judge of the Calcutta High Court Justice Jay Sengupta expressed his dissatisfaction and
anguished after the counsels of the state government filed a fresh petition seeking for quashing the NIA
investigation.
The NIA probe began into the alleged Ram Navami violence this year after the Calcutta HC ordered to this effect following a PIL.
“You ( the state government) have already incurred several lakhs of rupees expenditure by moving to the
Supreme Court to stay the NIA probe order given by this court.
And now again a fresh move by you when the Supreme Court order has not gone in your favour, you are filing a fresh petition.This can not go on,” Justice Sengupta was quoted as saying, the court sources maintained.
“You are making the case more complicated by not adhering to the court orders,” the Judge said.
The Judge also ordered the state government that by 1200 hours on Tuesday it should hand over all the relevent documents, including CCTV footages, video footage to the NIA.
The Division Bench of HC comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya
had ordered the NIA probe on April 27.
However, the state government had gone to the Supreme Court challenging the order. On July 24, the Top Court upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court’s division bench and directed the government to cooperate with the central investigative agency.
The NIA had moved the Calcutta HC seeking its intervention after the state government allegedly not cooperating with the probe agency by not transferring the required documents into the cases of Ram Navami violences, including at Howrah, in 2023, the court sources added.
