New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Calcutta High Court order directing for a CBI probe on the attack on a convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik allegedly by Trinamool Congress activists on February 25.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala said the high court has relied upon certain extracts of the status report filed by the police and it has not dealt with the status report where it shows the action taken.
The bench said it will set aside this judgment and send the matter back to the high court to take a fresh look at it, and then police can show an updated status report.
It further added that the high court would take a fresh view if the West Bengal Police has probed the incident, or if it is fit for transfer to the CBI. "We allow the appeal and set aside the March 28 order of the Calcutta High Court order and restore the matter back at the high court. We keep the objection to the maintainability of the plea open", said the bench.
It further noted that "since respondent (Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition of West Bengal) has not had the opportunity to respond to the fresh additional affidavit, we grant liberty to the first respondent to file a reply to the same before the high court". The West Bengal government and the state police had moved the apex court challenging the high court order.
The division bench of Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj passed this order on the petition filed by leader of the opposition of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari demanding a central agency probe in the matter. The division bench has directed the CBI to find out what actually happened on that day.
On February 25, the vehicle of Paramanik was attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress activists at Burihat under Dinhata Assembly constituency in Cooch Behar while it was passing through the area.
The situation got tense as Trinamool and BJP supporters clashed with each other, throwing brickbats and stones, smashing the glass window of Pramanik's car in the process.
The minister, however, did not sustain any injury as his security personnel safely escorted him out of the area, which by then had turned into a virtual battlefield.
Pramanik alleged that besides stones and bricks, the ruling party workers also hurled crude bombs targeting his convoy, his security personnel and local BJP supporters.
On March 16, the West Bengal government on Thursday submitted a report to a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on this count, where the associates accompanying the Union minister's convoy were held responsible for instigating the violence. The Union government soon filed a counter affidavit stating its points of arguments in the matter. Finally, the division bench directed the CBI probe in the matter.
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