Suvendu Adhikari
KOLKATA: Calcutta high court (HC) on Friday revoked interim protection against “coercive steps” by Bengal authorities that assembly opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari had since Dec 2022. Justice Jay Sengupta, while passing the order, held that “any interim order by way of protection cannot continue for an unlimited period”. State administration can now lodge fresh FIRs against Adhikari without HC’s nod.Justice Sengupta ordered the setting up of an SIT comprising seniors from CBI and state police to investigate several cases based on FIRs lodged against Adhikari. But the single-judge bench dismissed 15 other pending cases. The cases under investigation include an alleged job scam case registered in Kolkata; another was initiated following Adhikari’s alleged threat to Tamluk cops.Another single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha had restrained the state in Dec 2022 from taking any “coercive measures” against Adhikari in 29 cases. Justice Mantha had also directed the state not to lodge any criminal case against Adhikari without the court’s permission. A division bench of Justices IP Mukerji and Biswaroop Chowdhury had later observed that Article 361 of the Constitution provided blanket protective covers only to the President and state governors. But they told cops to seek the court’s permission before taking any “coercive steps” against Adhikari and directed the state director-general of police to submit reports on FIRs lodged against Adhikari.The state then moved SC against Justice Mantha’s order providing a “blanket stay” on FIRs against Adhikari. It, in turn, referred all pending cases against Adhikari to HC for final adjudication with directions to dispose of them expeditiously. Justice Mantha released all cases against Adhikari from his court following SC order.
