The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea of the West Bengal government seeking to lodge an FIR against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and others in connection with a stampede at a blanket distribution programme in Paschim Bardhaman district.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha was told by senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the state government, that he was seeking modification of a high court order granting a “blanket” stay on registration of an FIR in the case.

Singhvi said the high court judge who passed the order was unavailable and hence, an appeal in the top court has been filed for modification of the order.

Refusing to entertain the plea “at this stage”, the bench asked the state government to move the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court with its modification plea.

This led the state government to withdraw its plea.

As per the police, three people were killed and five seriously injured on Wednesday in a stampede at a blanket distribution programme in Paschim Bardhaman district.

On Wednesday evening, Two women and a 12-year-old girl died in a stampede shortly after leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari left a programme organised by the local unit of the BJP. The programme was to distribute blankets in West Burdwan’s Asansol.

Adhikari, who was the chief guest at the event, left the place around 6.30pm after addressing the gathering and distributing blankets to a few people. Once he left, around 5,000 people, mostly Hindi-speaking women, began to converge at the venue that could hold barely 1,500 people and jostled to get the blankets.

Soon chaos descended on the small field adjoining a temple in the town’s Ramkrishna Dangal area. The deceased were identified as Chandmani Devi Yadav, 54, Jhali Devi Bauri, 50, and Preeti Singh, 12.