SC to not entertain plea against CM Mamata, Moloy Ghatak for staging protest amid lockdown

The Supreme Court, on July 7, refused to entertain a plea filed by lawyer Viplav Sharma, seeking the top court's interference against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Law Minister Moloy Ghatak staging a protest at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office. 

While the plea was filed when the state was under partial lockdown from May 16, questions arose when thousands were amassed along with CM Mamata Banerjee outside the CBI office at Nizam Palace on May 17. Earlier today, however, the apex court said, "We can't pass any order on the petition."

A Division Bench led by Justice Vineet Saran and also comprising Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, while refusing to pass any order in the petition of the lawyer said not anybody and everybody can be allowed to jump into the fray as the matter is being heard by the Calcutta High Court.

Petition before Calcutta High Court

A writ petition was filed by Sharad Sinha before the Calcutta High Court seeking an investigation by an independent agency into "agitation" outside Nizam Palace in Kolkata upon the arrest of four senior Trinamool Congress leaders by CBI in the Narada sting operation case. The petitioner in the plea highlighted that the state was under partial lockdown around that time, so questioned the mass gathering inclusive of CM Banerjee outside Nizam Palace on May 17. 

While the plea seeking an independent agency to investigate the incident and identify the police personnel on duty on the date, Sinha also sought disciplinary action against them "for failure to maintain law and order situation during the time of partial lockdown".

The CBI had on May 17 arrested three TMC MLAs in the Narada case. After their arrest, CM Mamata allegedly reached the spot with TMC workers demanding their 'unconditional release' staging a protest which allegedly lasted for 6 hours. The CBI has accused Banerjee of barging into their office and 'threatening' officers on duty.  The Calcutta High Court last month granted interim bail to Trinamool Congress leaders, namely, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and former Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee, in relation to the ongoing investigation in the Narada case. 

Mamata says 'no proof of dharna' at CBI office

On June 22, West Bengal CM filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court where she accused the CBI of 'boasting' the case against the TMC Ministers in the Narada probe. The TMC Supremo claimed that there was 'no proof' of her conducting a 'dharna' or 'seize' at the Nizam Palace- CBI office in Kolkata, claiming that CBI's allegations were 'false.'

It was only later when CM Banerjee-led WB government and state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak separately moved the SC challenging a June 9 orders of their state's High Court order refusing to take their reply affidavits on record in the transfer plea filed by Central Bureau of Investigation in the Narada case.

Notably, CM Mamata Banerjee and Moloy Ghatak had approached the SC stating that their affidavits were denied by West Bengal's HC. The Calcutta High Court, on June 9, had refused to accept the reply-affidavits of the TMC supremo. After hearing her plea, the five-judge SC bench headed by Justice Vineet Saran directed the HC to decide on Mamata's applications first and asked her Ghatak to file the application before the HC once again.