Calcutta HC allows West Bengal police to file FIR against Suvendu Adhikari

Calcutta High Court allows West Bengal police to register FIR against Suvendu Adhikari for provocative remarks during Panchayat polls. Court says protection given to Adhikari not acceptable as per Article 361 of Constitution.

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed West Bengal police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari allegedly for making provocative remarks during the recently concluded panchayat election. The development comes as a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who was granted protection by the High Court against any FIR against him by West Bengal police. 

A Division Bench of Justice Indra Prasanna Mukherjee and Justice Biswarup Chowdhury while hearing public interest litigation (PIL) petition said that police would investigate the allegations of provocative comments against Mr. Adhikari and if the complaint was admissible, the police could file an FIR.

In December 2022, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court while staying about 17 FIRs against the Leader of Opposition had restrained the State from registering any fresh FIRs against Mr. Adhikari.

 The Division Bench said on Thursday that according to Article 361 of the Constitution, only the President and the Governor were protected in criminal cases and in this case, the explanation of placing the accused above the President and the Governor was not acceptable. The court, however, directed that police could not take any strict action without the permission of the court against Mr. Adhikari.

The PIL petition was filed by lawyer Suman Singh who had claimed that from June 13 till July 8 Mr. Adhikari had made several provocative statements which predicated the situation. Counsels representing the BJP leader said that the matter was not a public interest litigation and the protection was given to Mr. Adhikari as petty cases including extortion of ₹5,000 were lodged against him. Mr. Adhikari, once a key Trinamool Congress leader and a trusted aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had defected to the BJP in December 2020 ahead of the Lok Sabha poll. He had defeated Ms. Banerjee from Nandigram Assembly seat in the 2021 Assembly election.

The High Court order restraining the State government against registering FIR against the Leader of Opposition has been at the centre of political debate in the State. On July 14, Trinamool general secretary Abhishek targeted the judiciary over the protection given to Mr. Adhikari.  “Justice Rajasekhar Mantha has given such a judgment that if Suvendu Adhikari does anything wrong in the future, no action can be taken against him. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha has also given protection to accused who are behind the violence.. Because of one judge of the High Court the entire judiciary is being maligned. The hands of the administration are being tied,” Mr. Banerjee had said, prompting criticism in political circles.