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Synopsis

The West Bengal government has filed a plea in the Supreme Court questioning correctness of April 10 order by the Calcutta High Court's division bench for transfer of probe into charges of mass sexual exploitation of women and land grab against ruling TMC leader, now suspended, Sheikh Shahjahan and others in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas.

In a special leave petition, the Mamata Banerjee government claimed the High Court failed to consider the underlying political motive behind multiple PILs before it. The order would overburden the CBI with frivolous complaints and further denude the actual victims of a reasonable opportunity to file a complaint, it contended.

The state government also claimed the High Court completely ignored the extensive efforts taken by the state police in the matter.

It states nearly 43 FIRs have been registered and the earliest of which was registered four years ago and the last FIR was registered on February 10, 2024. Further out of the 43 FIRs, in 42 cases chargesheets have been laid under various penal sections including Section 376 IPC. The High Court also noted that in seven cases of land grabbing charge sheets have been filed on February 08, 2024, apart from 24 cases of land grabbing having been registered by the State Police.

"The Division Bench, in its haste in painting the entire State Machinery as biased and in cohoots with the ruling dispensation, completely ignored the material placed before it indicating the measures taken by the State Govt./State Police in the investigation," the plea said.

The state government also said the High Court has directed the CBI to investigate the allegations of sexual violence and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali, solely on the basis that the CBI is already investigating the purported attack on the ED officials in Sandeshkhali while arresting accused Sahajahan.

It said the CBI’s investigation was limited to three FIRs alone, which relate to the complaints filed by the ED officials and against the ED officials and there is no overlap in investigation per se, between the allegations of sexual violence and land grabbing and the attack on ED officials.

Contending the HC's approach is flawed and erroneous, the plea said, "The actions of the state government in the present matter have been completely overlooked, while the political voices have been given supremacy in a court proceeding, which not only vitiates the matter at hand, but further will lead to biased investigation".

Aggrieved with the HC's observations which painted the entire state machinery at fault attributing culpability of the state officials in the land grabbing allegations, the state has said those remarks are prima facie unwarranted and would lead to the CBI embroiling the state officials in their investigation, only because the conclusion has been arrived at by the High Court.

it has been further stated the High Court heavily relied on the Report of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and numerous affidavits of alleged victims to pass the directions, whereas the said report is not conclusive as the petitioner State was permitted to file its objections against the said report and the same would be subject to further scrutiny in view of the said objections.

On April 10, a division bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, emphasising the gravity of the situation, directed the CBI to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter.

The directive followed a series of events, including an attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials by a mob in Sandeshkhali on January 5 this year. The officials were assaulted during a search operation at the premises of Shajahan, a suspended Trinamool Congress leader implicated in a ration distribution scam.

A series of protests took place in Sandeshkhali since February, 2024 alleging molestation, rape and land grabbing against one Sahajahan and his associates, viz Shibu Hazra and Sushanta Sardar @ Uttam Sardar.