Calcutta HC Gives Relief to Suvendu Adhikari against Police Action in JU Case

Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Jay Sengupta on Thursday gave protection to Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly, against any police action in relation to an agitation programme in front of the Jadavpur University (JU) campus in South Kolkata.

To recall, after the recent ragging-related death of freshers at JU, the BJP organised a protest demonstration in front of the university campus, where Adhikari was present. Since the leader of the opposition is already protected against any FIR without the permission of the court, Kolkata Police approached Justice Sengupta’s bench seeking permission to file that FIR against Adhikari.

However, the bench rejected the plea where permission for FIR was sought on grounds of the alleged niggling language used by the leader of the opposition during the protest demonstration in front of the campus.

Rejecting that argument, Justice Sengupta said the language used by the leader of opposition was general in nature and was not targeted towards any specific individual or individuals. He also observed that no criminal proceeds can be initiated against Adhikari just on the basis of the language he used on that day.

However, at the same time, Justice Sengupta observed that the elected representatives should be careful of the language they utter in public places since use of any unacceptable language can create negative reactions about the elected representative concerned in public minds.