Today(on 3rd April), a division bench of the Calcutta High Court instructed the West Bengal government to adhere to a single bench’s order, which mandated the transfer of the investigation into the death of two youths and injuries to others at Daribhit High School in North Dinajpur district to the NIA.
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KOLKATA: Today(on 3rd April), A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, presided over by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, has ordered the West Bengal government to comply with a previous order from a single bench.
The single bench had directed the transfer of investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) regarding the death of two youths and injuries sustained by others during an incident of violence at Darivit High School in the North Dinajpur district.
The Court’s ruling comes amidst escalating demands for a thorough and impartial investigation into the September 2018 incident, which saw Tapas Barman, a college student, and Rajesh Sarkar, an ITI student, lose their lives during a protest. The protest erupted over the recruitment of Sanskrit and Urdu teachers at Daribhit High School, despite public outcry for more science and mathematics educators.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, part of the division bench, emphasized the urgency of transferring the case to the NIA, stressing that the implementation of this order should proceed “without loss of time” and be “subject to the outcome of the state’s appeal.”
Further emphasizing the need for collaboration and transparency, the Court pointed out the delay in the provision of certain critical documents requested by the NIA back in May 2023. It issued a firm directive to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state to furnish these documents within a week.
In addition to the investigative orders, the division bench also addressed the issue of compensation for the victims’ families. It reiterated the single bench’s directive for the state government to compensate both the deceased and injured parties “at appropriate rates within a period of three weeks from the date.”
The state government’s appeal against the single bench’s order, which advocated for an NIA-led investigation, emphasizes a complex intersection of law, order, and federal jurisdiction. Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the state, contended that the already filed charge sheet by state police and the naming of 33 individuals as accused negated the need for NIA involvement.
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However, the counterargument presented by Additional Solicitor General Asok Kumar Chakrabarti for the Union of India highlighted that the jurisdictional scope of state authorities is circumvented when an offense falls under the NIA’s purview.
The Calcutta High Court has scheduled a follow-up hearing on May 15.
