Today,15th April, The Supreme Court granted a two-week period for the Lok Sabha Secretariat and others to reply to a petition by senior bureaucrats from West Bengal challenging their summons by the privileges committee of the Lower House of Parliament. The court also suspended the notices issued by the committee.
New Delhi: On April 15, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on whether BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar violated a specific written order from the West Bengal Police that denied him permission to visit the violence-hit Sandeshkhali, or if his rights to free speech as a lawmaker restricted by the State.
The Supreme Court granted a two-week extension to the Lok Sabha Secretariat and others to submit their responses to a petition filed by top bureaucrats from West Bengal challenging their summoning by the privileges committee of the Lower House of Parliament. The summoning by the Committee of Privileges of the Lok Sabha in response to a complaint of “misconduct” lodged against them by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sukanta Majumdar during his attempt to visit violence-hit Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of the state.
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The Supreme Court stopped the notices sent by the privileges committee to the West Bengal chief secretary, director general of police (DGP), and others on February 19.
Majumdar hospitalized after conflicts between BJP workers and police officers when the party members prevented from visiting Sandeshkhali.
Chief Secretary Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika, former Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, and others including the district magistrate and superintendent of police of North 24 Parganas called to appear before the privileges committee of the Lok Sabha at 10:30 am on February 19.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra considered the arguments put forth by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Lok Sabha Secretariat (Privileges and Ethics Branch), as well as senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who represented the state officials.
The court scheduled the hearing for two weeks later.
The Chief Justice stated,
“The parties are required to submit a concise document, limited to a maximum of five pages, within two weeks. The case will be scheduled exactly two weeks from today,”
Singhvi informed the court that the Lok Sabha privileges committee never acted with such speed before, and furthermore, there “no breach by any iota of imagination”.
On February 19, the court issued an order stating that,
“Proceedings following the Office Memorandum dated February 15… directed at the petitioners shall be stayed,”
The bench scheduled the hearing for March 22 while pausing the notices to the state officials. The Chief Justice’s bench prioritized the pleas from the West Bengal officials as the first matter during an urgent mention by senior officials. The lawyer representing the Lok Sabha Secretariat objected to the court’s stay, noting it the first meeting of the privileges committee.
Emphasizing that this was the “initial stage” of the process, the counsel stated,
“The individuals are not facing any accusations. This is part of the usual procedure. When an MP sends a notice and the speaker deems it necessary to investigate, notices are issued,”
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Apart from the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Lok Sabha’s Committee of Privileges, the respondents named in the petition filed by the state officials include Majumdar, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Majumdar and others barred from entering Sandeshkhali, where women protesting alleged abuses by Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates. Many women in the area accused Sheikh and his followers of land theft and coercive sexual assault.
Sheikh, who been evading authorities, later apprehended.
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