Supreme Court Rejects West Bengal Government’s Plea Against CBI Probe in Sandeshkhali Land Grabbing Case

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a plea by the West Bengal government challenging the CBI probe into land grabbing and extortion cases in Sandeshkhali.

The plea, which questioned the court-monitored investigation, was denied by a bench led by Justice B R Gavai.

Insights:

The Calcutta High Court had previously directed the CBI to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.

The Supreme Court saw no reason to interfere with this directive.

Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the state, argued that the plea aimed to contest specific findings and “unfair comments” in the high court’s order.

The Supreme Court suggested that the state could approach the high court to expunge the contested remarks.

The Supreme Court had earlier adjourned the hearing until July, clarifying that the ongoing petition should not delay proceedings in the Calcutta High Court.

In April, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya of the Calcutta High Court had instructed the CBI to submit a detailed report on the investigation.

The high court also mandated the CBI to create a separate portal and email for victims in Sandeshkhali to register complaints about illegal land grabbing and extortion. The bench ensured that the complainants’ identities would be kept confidential.

Additionally, the high court ordered the district administration in North 24 Parganas, including the district magistrate and police superintendent, to identify sensitive areas in Sandeshkhali and install CCTVs.

The administration received orders to ensure proper street lighting in the region.

Several public interest litigations (PILs) filed in the Calcutta High Court concerning illegal land grabbing and extortion in Sandeshkhali implicated local Trinamool Congress leaders, including suspended leader Sheikh Shahjahan.

In March, the Supreme Court had dismissed another plea by the West Bengal government challenging the CBI’s probe into an attack on ED and CAPF teams in Sandeshkhali on 5 January.

However, the court had agreed to expunge adverse remarks made against the West Bengal Police and the state government in the high court’s judgment.

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