Changed circumstances: that is the reason the CBI gave the Supreme Court as it withdrew its pleas to move the trials of the 2021 West Bengal post-poll violence cases out of the State.
New Delhi: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that circumstances had changed and sought leave to withdraw the agency’s petitions. The petitions asked for the trials of cases arising from the 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal to be transferred to courts outside the State, and the CBI withdrew them [Central Bureau of Investigation v. Debasis Ghosh and Others].
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant heard the matters. The underlying cases involve allegations that remain untested at trial, the Court has expressed no view on their merits, and every accused is presumed innocent until proved guilty.
The grounds the CBI first took
The CBI had originally sought transfer on the ground of apprehended “witness intimidation and threat to fair trial”. It had also relied on a National Human Rights Commission report recommending that the trial of all cases investigated by the CBI be held outside the State. The account of Wednesday’s hearing available at the time of writing does not spell out what the changed circumstances are.
December 2023 to September 2024
The transfer petitions were filed in December 2023 in the matter titled Central Bureau of Investigation v. State of West Bengal and Others. In February 2024 the Supreme Court stayed proceedings before the trial courts in West Bengal in the post-poll violence cases while the CBI’s plea was pending. The State of West Bengal had separately alleged that the CBI was proceeding with investigations and registering FIRs without the State government’s consent.
On September 20, 2024, a Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal took exception to the manner in which the transfer plea had been drafted. The Bench observed that scandalous allegations had been made against all the courts in general in West Bengal, and described the CBI’s conduct as unfortunate. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the agency, said there was no intention to cast aspersions on the judiciary and acknowledged loose drafting in the petition. The CBI then withdrew that petition, and the Court recorded that all objections to the proposed transfer were expressly kept open.
Transfer under the criminal procedure law
Transfer of criminal trials from one State to another is sought before the Supreme Court under Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (now Section 446 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), which allows the Court to direct transfer when it is satisfied that it is expedient for the ends of justice. The petitions had been registered as transfer petitions in criminal matters.
Case Title: Central Bureau of Investigation v. Debasis Ghosh and Others [T.P.(Crl.) No. 632 of 2025 and connected cases]
Bench: Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: October 28, 2026
Appearances: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the CBI