A division bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam on Tuesday turned down an appeal by the state against an order passed by Justice Kaushik Chanda of the court on Monday allowing BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari to visit Sandeshkhali under certain conditions.
“This court finds no problem if the leader of the Opposition (in the Bengal Assembly) is allowed to enter the area and talk to the people,” the chief justice said, referring to Adhikari, and dismissed the appeal.
The order was followed by Adhikari’s visit to trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, in North 24-Parganas.
The division bench also upheld Justice Chanda’s order to the state to withdraw curbs under Section 144 of the CrPC from and around Sandeshkhali immediately.
Moving the appeal, the state’s advocate-general said: “The situation in Sandeshkhali is quite normal. The state has taken all possible measures. Complaints of villagers are being registered. The state will take positive steps for the welfare of the downtrodden people of the area whose land and properties have allegedly been taken away by local leaders.”
At this, the chief justice said: “The key man behind all the happenings, Shahjahan Sheikh, is still absconding. How is that possible? The villagers’ land has been grabbed. Women in the area are also not safe. What step is the government taking?”
The chief justice said the allegations against Shahjahan and his associates were “serious in nature”. “At this stage, the courts cannot sit idle.”
He added: “For the last 14 days, the entire Sandeshkhali area was under 144 CrPC. Does the government think that only imposing 144 (CrPC) in the area is enough to bring back peace? It will create further tension in the area. The people of the area are being deprived of their right to move freely. They should be allowed to enjoy normal life.”
The chief justice said his bench was thinking of initiating a suo motu case on the issue.
“This court is thinking of starting a suo motu case on the issue. We may ask the police to ensure the presence of Shahjahan Sheikh before us. He (Shahjahan) is a local leader as far as I know. Then why is he absconding? If he is innocent, let him come out and say,” Chief Justice Sivagnanam said.
Earlier, Justice Jay Sengupta of the high court had issued an order asking the state and the Enforcement Directorate to conduct a joint probe into the attack on an ED team that went to raid the house of Shahjahan on January 5 in connection with alleged irregularities in the public distribution system.
The state and the ED had moved separate appeals before the division bench headed by the chief justice challenging Justice Sengupta’s order and seeking an order to carry out their own independent inquiries.
The chief justice said on Tuesday the appeals will be heard together “within a very short time”.
The bench then said the order passed by Justice Chanda would prevail and the leader of the Opposition would have to be allowed to enter the disturbed areas after abiding by the guidelines set up by the trial judge (Justice Chanda).
Justice Chanda had asked Adhikari not to make any provocative statements during his stay in Sandeshkhali as it might create further disturbance in the area and to inform the state administration about his route in advance. He also restricted the number of people who could accompany Adhikari to Sandeshkhali.