Calcutta HC Takes Judicial Notice Of Post Poll Violence; Permits Lodging Of Complaints Before DGP & IGP Through Email
|A vacation bench of Calcutta High Court has expressed concern over violence following or associated with Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and permitted the lodging of complaints in such cases before the Director General and Inspector General Of Police through email.
The Court was hearing a Writ Petition where the petitioners claimed they faced post-election violence due to their affiliation with a particular political party following the 2024 Lok Sabha General Election.
A bench comprising Justice Apurba Sinha Ray and Justice Kaushik Chanda said, “…this Court has taken judicial notice of many incidents of violence following or associated with the Lok Sabha General Election, 2024 as reported in the press and electronic media…. anyone possessing information or who have witnessed or been subjected to any form of violence in connection with the Lok Sabha General Election, 2024 will be at liberty to lodge their complaints before the Director General and Inspector General of Police, West Bengal through the following email addresses…”
The petitioners Subhajit Naskar and another alleged that despite lodging the complaints before the local police station, no case had been registered. They claimed that the local police station had either declined or neglected to register an FIR.
The Court said that the instances of post-poll violence are not unprecedented in the State of West Bengal while emphasising that after the last Vidhan Sabha election, the entire nation witnessed unprecedented post-poll violence within the State.
The Court directed that in addition to the mechanism provided in the Cr.P.C. for registering the FIR, anyone possessing information or who has witnessed or been subjected to any form of violence in connection with the Lok Sabha General Election, 2024 will be at liberty to lodge their complaints before the Director General and Inspector General of Police, West Bengal through the following email addresses:-
The Court further directed that the complaint received through the above-mentioned emails shall be immediately placed in the public domain by uploading on the relevant website of the West Bengal Police.
The Court also directed that if the complaints reveal any recognizable offence, the DGP must promptly instruct the respective police station to file a First Information Report (FIR) under the appropriate laws and once these FIRs are filed, the local police must swiftly take action against the perpetrators within the bounds of the law. Furthermore, the Director General and Inspector General of Police are tasked with overseeing the investigation's progress after the FIRs are lodged.
“It is expected that the State Police and Central Force shall cooperate with each other to ensure the safety and security of the citizens.”, the Court said.
The Court listed the matter after ten days with a direction to DGP and IGP to file an affidavit disclosing complaints received and steps taken.
“We also caution that if the State machinery fails to protect the lives and property of the citizens, appropriate orders will be passed on the next date of hearing.”, the Court warned.
Cause Title: Shubhajit Naskar v. Union of India
Appearance:
Appellant: Adv. Susmita Saha Dutta, Adv. Rajendra Banerjee, Adv. Gouranga Kumar Das, Adv. Ajit Mishra, Adv. Kalyan Kumar Chakraborty, Adv. Prolay Bhattacharya, Adv. Tapasi Sinha Palit, Adv. Ashutosh Pathak, Adv. Pradyut Saha, Adv. Tanusree Ghosh, Adv. Jayita Dhar Chakraborty, Adv. Niladri Saha and Adv. Madhurima Basu
Respondent: Adv. Anuran Samanta, Adv. Kishore Dutta, Adv. Anirban Ray, Adv. Rana Mukherjee, Adv. Swapan Banerjee, Adv. Vimal Kumar Shahi, Adv. Neelam Singh, Adv. Debanghsu Dinda, Adv. Jaladhi Das, Adv. Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi and Adv. Tirtha Pati Acharyya