New Delhi: The Supreme Court said Tuesday that the CBI is free to take action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It said that the probe agency is also free to take action against the West Bengal law minister or anyone who attempted to subvert the rule of law. The Supreme Court court was hearing the CBI’s appeal challenging the house-arrest of four Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders in the Narada case by the Calcutta High Court.
According to the CBI, the West Bengal chief minister had rushed to its office May 17, the day the three TMC leaders and the former mayor of Kolkata were arrested. The CBI alleged that Mamata Banerjee passed several derogatory and defamatory comments about the probe agency. It said she sat on ‘dharna’ for six-long-hours, while an unruly mob continued to swell in an organised way. The mob caused obstruction to the proceedings that were to be carried out by the investigating officer post arrest of the accused persons.
The CBI said thousands of followers of TMC laid siege on its building at Nizam Palace in Kolkata last Monday. The mob constantly tried to disrupt the process of law by engaging in stone pelting.
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A bench comprising Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai heard the plea. It told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, it did not approve of the conduct of the chief minister and law minister in laying siege of the CBI office, and also supporters thronging the trial court.
The bench noted that there is ample remedy in the Constitution to address such situations. “However we are not here to advise the government or CBI,” the bench remarked.
“Why should the accused persons be made to suffer because of a dharna by the chief minister and law minister?…Proceed against them if you wish to,” the bench shot back.
The bench noted it does not appreciate such dharnas by the chief minister to pressurise the agency, but can the accused be made to suffer? “We do not like to mix liberty of citizens with whatever illegal acts of politicians. We will not do that,” the bench observed.
However, the top court queried CBI, who is more in a position to influence the witnesses. “Those who were chargesheeted or those who have not been?” the bench asked.
On CBI’s contention to move the matter to another state, the bench observed that it may demoralise the Calcutta High Court.
The top court insisted that Calcutta High Court’s five-judge bench was already hearing the matter. So it would not like to intervene now.
Mehta submitted ‘it is happening periodically in the state that the CM barges into investigating agency office to help the accused’. The bench reiterated: “If chief minister or law minister has taken law into their hands, proceed against them.”
Kolkata witnessed high drama May 17 after CBI sleuths arrested two Trinamool Congress ministers – Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee – along with present MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Sovon Chattopadhyay — in connection with the 2016 Narada sting tapes case.
