On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a notice concerning a plea challenging the blanket immunity afforded to West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose from criminal prosecution.
The plea, submitted by a female staff member of Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, questions the extent of immunity granted under Article 361 of the Constitution and seeks judicial intervention to address the alleged injustice.
Insights:
The Bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, was hearing the writ petition filed by the complainant who has accused Governor Bose of sexual harassment.
The petitioner contends that the Governor’s immunity has left her without legal recourse, effectively stalling any investigation into her allegations.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the petitioner, urged the court to direct the police to proceed with the investigation and stressed that they must not delay evidence collection indefinitely.
The Court also sought assistance from the Attorney General of India to provide further clarity on the issue.
Alongside, the Bench, including Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, allowed the petitioner to include the Union government as a party in the proceedings.
Advocate Astha Sharma appeared on behalf of the West Bengal government and accepted the notice regarding the matter.
The petitioner however is not only challenging the Governor’s blanket immunity but is also advocating for the establishment of guidelines that would govern the constitutional protections afforded to Governors, rather than an absolute shield against prosecution.
Meanwhile, the complaint, filed on 2 May by the contractual staffer, led Governor Bose to issue directives to Raj Bhavan employees to disregard any communications from the West Bengal Police.
Additionally, staff members were instructed to avoid making statements in any form.
The Governor’s office cited Article 361 (2) and (3) of the Constitution, which prohibits state police from taking any action against a Governor during their tenure.
Despite this, the Kolkata Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations and requested CCTV footage from within Raj Bhavan.
Governor Bose has strongly denied the accusations, labeling them as part of an engineered narrative aimed at political gain.
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