Shivangi Prakash-
Published on: August 20, 2021, at 15:40 IST
Anindya Sundar Das, a petitioner-advocate, has filed a caveat application in the Supreme Court in response to a Calcutta High Court order for a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into post-poll violence in West Bengal following the Assembly election.
A litigant files a caveat application to ensure that no adverse order is made against him or her without first being heard.
“I have filed a caveat application in the Supreme Court that I should be heard in case West Bengal government files an appeal against the High Court order,” Das told ANI.
The High Court ordered a CBI inquiry into all suspected cases of heinous crimes including as rape and murder on Thursday, stating that there are “certain and proven” claims that petitions of victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly elections were not even registered.
A five-judge bench led by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal has formed a special investigation team (SIT) of three senior IPS officers from the West Bengal cadre to look into other allegations of post-poll violence.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has already investigated the episodes of violence during the West Bengal Assembly elections and recommended a court-monitored CBI investigation.
The NHRC in its report on the alleged post-election violence in West Bengal submitted to Calcutta High Court stated that “Spatio-temporal expanse of violent incidents in the state reflects appalling apathy of the state government towards the plight of victims”.
While adopting an NHRC panel’s recommendations for a CBI inquiry, the High Court stated that it will supervise both the CBI and the SIT’s investigations and urged both agencies to give status updates to the court within six weeks.
Several Public Interest Litigations (PILs) were launched in the High Court, requesting that the violence be investigated.
Hundreds of people were assaulted, forced to flee their homes, and their property was destroyed in the days following the publication of the Bengal election results, according to the petitions.
Since May 2, supporters of the TMC and the BJP have purportedly battled in several parts of the state, killing numerous people and sparking an alleged exodus.
The Ministry of Home Affairs dispatched a four-member delegation to the post-poll violence-affected areas.