Petitioner in Bengal Violence Case before Calcutta HC approaches Supreme Court on caveat
A petitioner in the West Bengal Violence case has moved Supreme Court on Caveat in the proposed Special Leave Petition against the interim order of Calcutta High Court which referred cases concerning murder and crimes against women viz. post poll violence to the CBI.
The petitioner was led by Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani as arguing counsel before the High Court.
Yesterday, the Calcutta High Court held that all cases as per report of committee of NHRC where allegations are murder, crimes against women, the same shall be referred to CBI for investigation. For all other cases, a Special Investigation Team has been directed to be constituted, comprising West Bengal cadre IPS officers.
The CBI & the SIT have further been directed to submit status report within 6 weeks, and the State of West Bengal has been ordered to commit cooperation with CBI and other authorities.
A 5-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice (Acting) Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice I. P. Mukerji, Justice Harish Tandon, Justice Soumen Sen, and Justice Subrata Talukdar had pronounced the judgment after it was reserved on August 3.
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani had argued, inter alia, that there is there is no denying the fact that post poll violence did occur in the state. He said that very serious grievances from victims of extremely grave crimes have come in where the police has diluted their complaints or has been threatening them to withdraw their complaints.
While pointing to the discrepancies with regard to the crimes registered against TMC goons for indulging in post poll violence by the police as compared to the ones on record by the NHRC's Committee, he reflected on some data.
"Murder cases alone - Police says 29, NHRC says 52. The situation with rape is even more grave. According to police no rape is there -- Whereas according to NHRC, there are 14 cases of rape, in addition to attempted rape & sexual assault cases which are 79 in number"
- Mahesh Jethmalani
He further added that no FIR's were registered in many cases and while 3384 is the total number of cases, 1356 complaints have been found "not to be true" by the state of West Bengal, which is a grave dereliction of duty on part of state. He added that over 1000 have not even been registered.
On the issue of bias as alleged by the State regarding appointments made to the Committee, Jethmalani refutingly argued that it was on the basis of Suo Motu that the case came before Court. "If the State machinery had done their job properly, no intervention of the Court would have been required," he said.
While slamming the West Bengal Government for its evasive response on the cases of post-poll violence that was unleashed in the state, allegedly at behest of the ruling Government, Calcutta High Court has also said that it was this dodging by the Mamata Banerjee led government that led to multiple petitions being filed before the High Court.
In this light Court earmarked in its order that a "lukewarm" response had been received from the state as stated by the NHRC Committee as in 60 % of the cases, FIRs were not registered.
Court also said that proper steps had not been taken to investigate the heinous crime, which could inspire confidence in the law enforcing agencies. "In the Master Data furnished by the Committee there are 13 cases of rape. In one of the case the victim has even approached Hon’ble the Supreme Court for intervention and the matter is pending." the Court noted.
Court said that glaring cases of murder and rape downplayed by the State and proper provisions of law were not invoked either.
In light of the Judgment four Special Investigation Units (SIU) have been formed (ANI reported) by the CBI.
The Four SIUs consist of over two dozen officers and Unit is headed by a Joint Director (JD) level officers.
Quick Glance at what unraveled before Calcutta High Court when hearings were still ongoing:
Earlier before the Calcutta High Court Bench, the State of West Bengal had made brief submissions whereby Sibal had argued that the NHRC Committee members are biased.
He said that the NHRC 's committee had travelled way beyond its scope to recommend that the cases should be handed over the CBI, where in fact its only job was to collate data.
Sibal had also argued that the Committee's procedures were to be governed by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1995 and that the absence of such procedural aspects was a gross violation of established legal tenets.
Advocate J Sai Deepak appeared for petitioner(s) & refuted this argument, stating that the procedure which was actually applicable to the Committee was carved out in an order of the Court itself. "Nonetheless", he argued, "technicalities could not overpower dispensation of justice".
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani had earlier argued for petitioner(s) that though the state was arguing on bias and refuted the designation of 3 members on the committee, there were in fact 7 members on board and that each member had their own team(s). On what grounds, he said could the entire Committee with many members, even from the state authorities, be questioned for their political affiliations?
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had argued for the DGP of police (WB) today as well. He said that there were many discrepancies in the complaints which were filed before NHRC, vehemently stating that they seemed "readymade" and "manufactured".
Sai Deepak had called the argument of Singhvi, addressing the Court and stating that the argument that there were no deaths in the post-poll violence that was unleashed in the state, "grossly insensitive". He further argued that the cases concerning post-poll violence point to connivance of the state's machinery and basis what he argued earlier, stated that the petitioners had no faith in the state machinery whatsoever.
The ASG also made brief submissions before Court and said that if Court were to direct an independent agency to probe into the cases, the agencies would be more than willing to take the cases up.
Read earlier arguments here: "1000's of complaints unregistered, systemic breakdown in state": Victims of post poll violence tell Calcutta High Court
Read an interview with a post-poll violence victim here: West Bengal post-poll violence: "Threatened, heckled by TMC goons for filing complaint with NCST": Tribal Resident from Kakragram claims