The Supreme Court questioned whether it can monitor every violent incident in West Bengal while hearing a plea over the alleged killing of three BJP workers after the 2018 local body polls. The Bench advised the petitioner to approach the Calcutta High Court and granted time to file a rejoinder affidavit.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned whether it can monitor every case of murder or violence reported from West Bengal while hearing a petition related to the alleged killing of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers after the 2018 local body elections in the State.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria was hearing a plea filed in 2018 seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deaths. During the hearing, the Bench expressed concern over the nature of the relief sought and asked why the petitioner had not first approached the Calcutta High Court.
Raising a pointed question, Justice Vikram Nath remarked,
“Every murder or every violent incident that happens in West Bengal, is this court going to monitor everything?”
The observation came when Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the brother of one of the deceased and also the original petitioner, briefly explained the background of the case.
Bhatia submitted that three brutal killings had taken place in West Bengal following the 2018 local body elections and that these incidents were brought before the Supreme Court due to the seriousness of the allegations.
He further argued that around 19 politically motivated murders had allegedly occurred in the State during that period. According to him, family members of one of the deceased were facing threats from influential individuals, raising concerns about their safety.
The senior counsel informed the Court that five closure reports had been filed in connection with some of these cases. He stressed that the deceased’s brother had also filed an application before the apex court and sought security protection for the family members, claiming that they continued to receive threats.
The Bench, however, indicated that the appropriate forum for seeking relief would be the High Court. It advised the petitioner to approach the Calcutta High Court instead of seeking continuous monitoring by the Supreme Court.
During the proceedings, Bhatia referred to the post-mortem report of one of the deceased. After examining the report, the Bench observed that prima facie the case appeared to be one of suicidal hanging. Despite this, Bhatia stated that he intended to file a rejoinder affidavit responding to the developments in the matter.
Granting time, the Court allowed him two weeks to submit the rejoinder affidavit and listed the matter for further hearing on March 10.
The case relates to the deaths of three BJP workers—Shaktipada Sarkar, Trilochan Mahato, and Dulal Kumar—after the 2018 local body elections in West Bengal. The plea alleges that the killings were politically motivated and seeks a CBI investigation into the incidents.
Shaktipada Sarkar, who was a BJP block president in the Mandirbazar-Dhanurhat area, was allegedly hacked to death in July 2018 while returning home in the South 24 Parganas district. In June 2018, the body of 32-year-old Dulal Kumar was found hanging from an electric pole in Balarampur, Purulia district. A month earlier, in May 2018, the body of 18-year-old Trilochan Mahato, also a BJP worker from Balarampur in Purulia district, was found hanging from a tree.
It has also been alleged that the family members of these slain BJP workers were threatened after the incidents.
The Supreme Court had earlier, in August 2018, agreed to examine the plea seeking a CBI probe into the alleged killings. Later, in March 2019, the Court recorded that charge sheets had been filed in connection with the deaths of Sarkar and Mahato.
At that time, the apex court observed that since an alternative remedy was available to the families of the deceased, it was not inclined to continue entertaining the petition in respect of the deaths of two of the victims.
With the matter now posted for March 10, the focus will be on the rejoinder affidavit to be filed by the petitioner and whether the Court considers any further intervention necessary in light of the availability of remedies before the High Court.
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