The Supreme Court on Thursday held a special sitting to stay a Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI to question Trinamul Congress MLA Manik Bhattacharya in connection with alleged corruption in posting primary schoolteachers and produce videography of the interrogation inside Presidency jail.
The apex court, however, clarified that the order of the single judge of the high court will continue to apply with regard to other persons in the matter who are parties to the dispute.
Bhattacharya, in jail custody, was president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education when the alleged irregularities in the posting of teachers had taken place. He was arrested in October 2022 in connection with alleged corruption in the recruitment of primary school teachers.
The apex court bench of Justices A.S. Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar on Thursday assembled at 3pm for an urgent hearing to stay the impugned July 25 and 26 orders of the high court since the single judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, had directed the CBI to place before him at 3.30pm on August 3 (Thursday) the details of the interrogation along with the video footage.
The urgency plea, filed by Bhattacharya’s lawyer, was raised with the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, who constituted the special bench to take up the matter.
The apex court, while staying the order, noted that Bhattacharya was not heard by the high court before the impugned order was passed.
The following is the operative portion of the Supreme Court order: “Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner. This petition is taken up since the matter was moved before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India and the petition has been assigned to this Bench....
“...It is also brought to our notice the orders dated 25.07.2023 and 26.07.2023 to point out that despite the petitioner not being a party to the said writ petition, certain adverse orders are passed against the petitioner without opportunity of hearing to the petitioner herein. Such order would also include interrogation against the petitioner by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the very manner in which the investigation would be made is also regulated by the learned Judge.
“Further, it is pointed out that the direction in the order dated 26.07.2023 would also indicate that in the process of such investigation, the same is to be videographed and the videograph of the same is to be produced to the Court which would be viewed on 03rd August, 2023, at 03:30 p.m. i.e. today in the presence of others.
“In that regard, it is pointed out that considering the large number of petitioners as also the respondents in the said writ proceedings and the learned counsel representing the parties, the right of the petitioner herein would be seriously prejudiced. “It is the said direction fixing a time today at 03.30pm, which was the urgency for the petitioner to move the petition, and therefore, this petition was taken up out of turn.
“In a matter of the present nature, when it is evident that the petitioner is not a party to the said writ proceedings and certain orders have been made to his detriment, in any event, before this Court ultimately decides the said matter no further prejudice shall be caused to the petitioner.
“In that view, the orders dated 25.07.2023 and 26.07.2023 and further proceedings thereto shall remain stayed. However, ...there is no impediment to proceed as against the parties who are arrayed as the petitioners and respondents therein. Since, we have already taken note that the petition is ordered to be listed at 03.30pm today i.e. 03rd August, 2023, before the High Court and the urgency involved for which the SLP(C) Diary No. 29780/2023 petition was moved, we request the Secretary General of this Court to communicate the order to the Registrar General of the High Court of Calcutta who shall place the order of the Court before the concerned judge immediately thereafter….”
The bench issued notices to various respondents in the other case.