‘Being Punished for Changing Political Affiliation, Being Close To Leader Of Opposition’: Calcutta High Court Release Rakhal Bera Suspecting Political Vendetta by The Ruling Party.

‘Bera is being punished by the ruling dispensation for changing political affiliation and for being close to the present leader of the Opposition by causing to foist false cases against him’.

Calcutta High Court on Monday passed an order releasing Rakhal Bera , close aide to BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, from custody while directing the police not to arrest Bera in any other case without the High Court’s permission.

The Single Bench comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha held,

“Considering the repeated attempts by persons to lodge one complaint after the other against the petitioner and in a planned and systematic manner and the repeated arrest after bail in one case or the other, this Court is persuaded to grant interim relief to the petitioner.”

“This Court is also inclined to direct that all police stations in the State may register any FIR against the petitioner but he shall not be arrested without the express leave of this Court,” the Court order states.

Adding, the court further ordered the administration to submit the list of all the cases pending against Bera anywhere in the state and directed the latter to cooperate in the investigation.

Significant Observations

Stressing over the fact that Bera have been taken into custody when he was already in custody in connection with an earlier case, the Court observed,

“There appears to be a pattern being followed by police in coordination with one another in attempting to keep the petitioner in custody by hook or crook on one pretext or the other and by registering one FIR after the other.”

Pointing out that there are five different FIRs are registered against Bera, which seems to follow a pattern, the court reiterated the averment made in an earlier petition that ‘Bera is being punished by the ruling dispensation for changing political affiliation and for being close to the present leader of the Opposition by causing to foist false cases against him’.

Rejecting the prosecutions’ submissions that if the cases are being filed by private persons, the State was only doing his duty; there is no co-relation between three FIRs registered, the court said that as per the available records, Bera only threatened the complainant with consequences if material was disclosed and such charges do not require arrest.

Concluding that the Court’s mind is not free from the doubt that the complaints being lodged and FIRs registered against the petitioner may not be wholly bona fide, the Bench released Bera with immediate effect after he has spent two months in prison.

The affidavit-in-opposition was ordered to be filed within 4 weeks from the date of the order. Reply, if any has to be filed within 2 weeks thereafter, the Court directed.

Matter in Brief:

Sujit Dey, a resident of Kalyangarh, had accused Bera and others of duping people by promising government jobs. He filed a complaint against him at the Manicktala Police Station. Pursuant to the complaint, Rakhal Bera, Chanchal Nandy and others were booked under Sections 120B/420/467/468/471 of the Indian Penal Code, and taken into custody.

Rakhal Bera was enlarged on bail in the matter. However, prior to being released, another case was registered against him on a similar allegation and he was arrested in the second matter immediately.