On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sanjay Das challenging the 12-hour general strike called by the BJP in West Bengal.
The court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, has also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on Das for filing the PIL.
The bench criticized Das for not adhering to the appropriate legal procedures and principles required for PIL submissions.
This is not the first time Das has faced scrutiny for his petitions; previously, his challenge against the allocation of cases related to police misconduct to a single-judge bench had drawn criticism for misinterpreting the court’s procedural guidelines.
The BJP’s strike on Wednesday responded to alleged excessive police action during the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ protest march held the previous day. They held the march to protest the tragic rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
On Tuesday, the streets of West Bengal saw violent clashes between protesters and police, with law enforcement deploying lathi charges, teargas, and water cannons to manage the unrest.
Authorities made 220 arrests in connection with the protests, adding to the 25 preventive arrests conducted earlier.
The state government has vowed to take all necessary administrative actions to restore normalcy.
Despite this, Das’s urgent PIL filed on Tuesday evening seeking to challenge the strike was swiftly rejected by the court on Wednesday.
The BJP’s 12-hour shutdown, aimed at condemning the police response, reflects the ongoing tensions surrounding the high-profile case and the broader political climate in West Bengal.
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