SC issues notice to Mamata govt against petitions alleging foisting of false FIRs against BJP workers

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 18

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the West Bengal government on petitions filed by BJP leaders Arjun Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Pawan Singh, Sourav Singh and Mukul Roy challenging filing of “false FIRs” against the saffron party’s workers by the state police in the run up to assembly elections early next year.

A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul orders that no coercive steps should be taken against the petitioners till next date of hearing.

The petitioners alleged that as many as 64 false criminal cases had been filed against the BJP leaders and workers in West Bengal. Many of them faced FIRs after they left the ruling TMC and joined the BJP.

The order came after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted that BJP leaders were being prevented from entering West Bengal and they feared being arrested.

“I will not be able to do election duty. The election is in February or March,” Rohatgi argued.

The top court directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to submit a copy of the report on the alleged scuffle between the TMC workers and the CISF Special Security Group security personnel given to advocate and BJP spokesperson Kabir Shankar Bose.

Asking the MHA submit the report in a sealed cover, the top court posted the case for further hearing in January 2021.

On behalf of Bose, Jethmalani submitted: “I am a person with the CISF (SSG) protection which is granted only after IB inputs of threat. I have been attacked and assaulted. I was attacked in the face of the CISF (SSG) protection.”

Accusing the West Bengal police of filing dozens of false FIRs against the BJP leaders in the state due to political vendetta, the petitioners demanded transfer of probe from the state police to any other investigating agency.