Two public interest litigations (PIL) were filed on the Sandeshkhali in South 24-Parganas seeking intervention of the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court, today.
The PIL at the apex court seeks probe, either by the CBI or a SIT and monitored by the apex court, while litigation at HC sought immediate deployment of central forces to restore peace and tranquillity in the area.
“I will examine this in the afternoon,” a Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud told advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, the petitioner-in-person, who sought directions for urgent listing of the PIL.
The plea filed by Srivastava seeks formation of a committee of retired high court judges to inquire into the nature of violence against women in the instant case in line with the committee formed by the apex court in cases of atrocities against women in Manipur.
The PIL seeks directions to conduct an expeditious and time-bound trial outside Bengal in a fast-track court situated in Delhi.
The Division Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth of Calcutta High Court admitted the petition filed by Sangjukta Samnta, who is herself a counsel of the court. The matter will come up for hearing on 19 February.
The deployment of CAPF personnel at Sandeshkhali was earlier raised by BJP’s state unit since the time tension started mounting there. BJP’s claim was that the safety and security of the protesting women could not be ensured in the absence of CAPF deployment since the district police was allegedly giving protection to those accused by the women of sexual harassment.
Sources close to the development claimed that while the plea in SC sought a ruling on “court-monitored probe”. The PIL, claimed sources, had been filed seeking punishment of the errant and accused police officers.
Meanwhile, Adhir Chowdhury, the state PCC president and MP , who was prevented from gaining entry at Sandeshkhali by police alleged that people of the state won’t forgive the chief minister Mamata Banerjee for trying to give a communal spin in order to dilute an otherwise alleged atrocity against women perpetrated by her leaders of the party there and also hit out the Centre for playing only a politics of polarisation in tacit understanding with the ruling party in the state keeping an eye to reap dividends the upcoming parliamentary election.