West Bengal BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata. File photograph
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Supreme Court on Friday, August 4, 2023, put aside an order of the Calcutta High Court which had stated that the West Bengal Police can register an FIR in opposition to BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari, if they’re happy that offence was made out, on a criticism accusing him of selling enmity between completely different teams.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud noticed that it will have been applicable for the excessive courtroom to grant a chance to Mr. Adhikari to file a counter affidavit within the matter earlier than issuing the interim path in its July 20 order.
“We request the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to hear… afresh and to facilitate that, the order of July 20 shall stand set aside,” the bench, additionally comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated.
The high courtroom handed the order on an enchantment filed by Adhikari difficult the July 20 order handed by a Division Bench of the High Court.
Earlier, a single decide of the High Court, in its orders handed in September 2021 and December 2022, stated no FIR shall be registered and no coercive steps could be taken in opposition to Mr. Adhikari, who’s the Leader of the Opposition within the West Bengal Assembly.
On July 20, a division bench of the excessive courtroom had handled a plea which alleged that Mr. Adhikari has dedicated an offence underneath Section 153-A (selling enmity between completely different teams on grounds of faith, race, native land, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to upkeep of concord) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In its order, the division bench stated the petition be handled as a criticism to the police authority and the state police shall train powers in accordance with the regulation and thoroughly look at whether or not the acts narrated in it disclose any offence underneath part 153-A of the IPC.
“If they are so satisfied they will register the first information report under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” the High Court had stated.
Source: www.thehindu.com
