Bengal seeks urgent hearing in SC of plea against CBI probe

The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court for a second time on Wednesday seeking urgent listing of its petition challenging a Calcutta high court order for transferring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in Sandeshkhali but failed to elicit prompt relief.

"You move an application. The CJI takes note of (urgent listing) applications during lunch hour. He will order listing of the plea," Justice Sanjiv Khanna said responding to the plea.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government, mentioned the petition before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

The senior lawyer said the central probe agency wanted immediate compliance of the high court order of transferring the probe to it.

The counsel for West Bengal had attempted to convince the court about listing the matter urgently on Tuesday as well but to no avail.

The bench had then asked the state government counsel to mention the matter before the registrar general of the top court.

The state government has, in its plea before the apex court, dubbed the high court order as perverse, illegal, and arbitrary which deserves to be set aside.

"It is most respectfully submitted that the Impugned Order was pronounced by the Division Bench at 3 pm and uploaded on the High Court website by 3.30 pm (approx.), but the directions contained therein required the Petitioner/State Govt. to comply with such directions by 4.30 pm on the self same day i.e. March 5, 2024 which effectively frustrated the Petitioner's right to avail its remedy under Article 136 of the Constitution.

"In fact, the Advocate General appearing for the Petitioner State orally prayed seeking stay on the operation of the Impugned Order for three days to avail such legal remedy but the Division Bench not only rejected such prayer but refused to record the same in the Impugned Order," the state government said.

Referring to apex court judgments, the state government said the power to transfer an investigation must be used 'sparingly' and only 'in exceptional circumstances'.

The Calcutta high court had on Tuesday directed that the CBI be handed over the case of attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali and the custody of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh.

Sheikh was alleged to have orchestrated an attack on ED officials who had gone to search his premises in connection with an alleged ration scam involving defalcation of several crore of rupees.

The West Bengal police, however, refused to hand over Sheikh to the CBI team when it went to take him into custody on Tuesday.