The Court also allowed the local BJP MLA to visit the affected places but strictly instructed that they must inform the jurisdictional Superintendent of Police (SP) before their visit.
KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court has allowed BJP leader and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari to visit Murshidabad, where violence had recently erupted related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
The permission was granted by a Division Bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury on Wednesday, following a petition filed by Adhikari.
The Court also allowed the local BJP MLA to visit the affected places but strictly instructed that they must inform the jurisdictional Superintendent of Police (SP) before their visit.
However, the Court gave a clear warning that no rallies, processions or public speeches should be held during the visit to prevent any disturbance.
“It is expected that jurisdictional SPs shall ensure that no breach of peace takes place during such visit and if required additional forces may be deployed to prevent any untoward incident. The petitioner nos.1, 2 and Subrata (Kanchan) Moitra may interact with the victims at the aforesaid three places, however, they shall not take out any procession or hold any rally or make any public speech that are likely to cause breach of peace during their interaction with the victims. This is necessary for the purpose of preservation of peace and tranquility,” the Court said in its order.
The plea was filed by Suvendu Adhikari seeking permission to go to Murshidabad, arguing that he had been unfairly denied access, even though leaders from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) were being allowed to visit the violence-affected areas freely.
Adhikari’s legal team informed the Court that they had sent several emails to the local SP requesting a suitable time for the visit. However, they received no response, prompting the need for judicial intervention.
The West Bengal government strongly opposed the plea, saying that even if Adhikari is the Leader of the Opposition, he cannot claim special privileges and must follow the law like any other citizen.
The government argued, “even if it is accepted that Adhikari is the leader of the opposition, he does not enjoy any immunity and does require the Court’s blessings for his visit.”
After hearing both sides, the High Court decided to allow the visit but laid down strict conditions to maintain law and order. It also disposed of the petition.
Suvendu Adhikari was represented by Senior Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharyya, along with advocates Moyukh Mukherjee, Anish Kumar Mukherjee, Pritam Roy, Sagnika Banerjee, Megha Datta, and Tamoghna Pramanick.
The State of West Bengal was represented by Advocate General Kishore Datta, along with lawyers Swapan Banerjee, Sumita Shaw, and Soumen Chatterjee.
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