SC notice to Centre, others on West Bengal plea against HC order for CBI probe into post-poll violence cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre and others to respond to the West Bengal government’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court order directing court-monitored CBI probe into the cases of rape and murder during the post-poll violence in the state.

A bench comprising Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose, however, refused to direct the CBI that it should not register any more FIRs in such cases, saying no order should be passed without hearing the other side.

“You have made out the case for issuance of the notice,” the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government.

The Mamata Banerjee-led state government is aggrieved by the high court verdict.

A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI investigation into all the alleged cases of heinous crimes in West Bengal after the assembly poll results this year, in which the ruling TMC came back to power, after accepting the recommendations of an NHRC panel.

As regards other criminal cases related to post-poll violence, the high court had directed that they be investigated by a Special Investigation Team under the monitoring of the court.

The high court verdict came on PILs which had alleged that people were subjected to assault, made to flee homes and properties were destroyed during the violence in the wake of the assembly elections and sought impartial probe into the incidents.