The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Calcutta High Court’s order to transfer the investigation into the Ram Navami violence to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice KV Viswanathan expressed disinclination to stay the order and postponed the petition filed by the State of West Bengal against the High Court direction after the summer vacations.
Appearing for the State government, Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that the NIA Act cannot be invoked for ordinary cases of violence unless it threatens the country’s security or sovereignty. He also stated that the order was issued by the High Court on the assumption that bombs and explosives were used in the violence, thus invoking the Explosives Act, which is a scheduled offence under the NIA Act.
“NIA has a clear bar. There cannot be NIA just because you say there might have been a Bomb…all this is done in a PIL, by an active member of the BJP”, Singhvi said taking objection to the High Court entertaining what he called a politically motivated PIL filed by opposition leader Suvendhu Adhikari.
Senior Advocate PS Patwalia, who was representing Adhikari, informed the bench that the NIA had filed the FIRs.
“We, after registration of FIR, we wrote to them that give us papers of investigation. They write a letter to us saying we’re before SC. So please clarify my lords…”, submitted Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, requesting clarification that there is no stay.
“We’re simply going to take this after vacation. We’re not staying the order of the HC”, CJI stated.
While transferring the case to the NIA, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya stated that at least twelve such violent incidents had occurred in the State of Bengal since April 2021, resulting in significant loss of life and public property.
The High Court observed that the use of explosives and the hurling of bombs had become commonplace during rallies and religious ceremonies. The bench also stated that in more than eight orders concerning the violent incidents, it was forced to transfer the investigation to the NIA because the state police downplayed the true state of affairs.
