The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered transfer of investigation into an attack on Enforcement Directorate officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 from the West Bengal Police to the CBI, holding that the state police are “totally biased”. The court also directed that the custody of Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency.
A division bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam directed that the directions be complied with by 4.30 pm on Tuesday.
“There can be no better case than the case on hand which requires to be transferred to be investigated by CBI,” the division bench observed.
Both the ED and the West Bengal government moved separate appeals challenging a single bench order which on January 17 ordered formation of a joint special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI and the state police to probe the mob attack on the ED officials.
While the ED wanted the probe to be transferred to the CBI only, the state prayed that the investigation be allowed to be done by the state police solely.
The division bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, set aside the order passed by the single bench constituting the SIT.
The bench observed that the state police had played a “hide and seek” methodology to shield the accused who “undoubtedly is a highly politically influential person who has demonstrably shown that he is and would be in a position to influence the investigation if allowed to rest with the state police.”
The West Bengal government, on the other hand, on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court, appealing against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to transfer the probe into the attack against ED officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI. This development comes within hours of the high court’s order directing the transfer of the case and the custody of prime accused TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh to the CBI by 4.30 PM today.
West Bengal’s plea requesting the apex court’s urgent intervention was orally mentioned before Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s bench today by Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jaideep Gupta and Gopal Sankaranarayanan. In response to this, the judge directed the papers to be placed before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for further instructions. The matter was mentioned before Justice Khanna, the second senior judge of the Supreme Court, as the CJI was holding a Constitution Bench hearing at the time.
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