Calcutta HC rejects Bengal govt’s petition; NHRC to examine post-poll violence – Hindustan Times

A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday refused to recall its June 18 order directing the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to constitute a committee to examine all cases of alleged human rights violation during violence after the recent assembly polls, HT has learnt.

Arguing for a section of the complainants, lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Priyanka Tibrewal cited a Supreme Court order and said court orders are recalled only in exceptional situations and there was no such ground in the ongoing case. “Since the high court passed an interim order (asking the NHRC to examine the complaints), the state government should not face any difficulty or suffer any injury,” she argued.

The court said the NHRC has to submit its report on June 30 when the case will be heard again.

Rejecting the petition for recall that the West Bengal government filed on Saturday, the five-judge bench, headed by acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal, made sharp observations on the law and order situation.

Justice Bindal remarked that there are allegations that police are not taking action while more complaints are being filed. He observed that the conduct of the state does not inspire the confidence of the court.

Justice Harish Tandon, another judge in the bench, said while 541 complaints have been received by the NHRC, not a single one was received by the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

The court told advocate general Kishore Dutta, who represented the state, that the government can submit before the NHRC’s committee its report on the action taken on the complaints.

Dutta told the court that he was not in a position to argue his case as the state was not served a copy of the report filed by the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (WBSLSA) regarding complaints received from people. Tibrewal told the court that Dutta’s argument was untenable as she, too, had not received a copy of the WBSLSA report.

More than 3,400 complaints had been received till Monday, Tibrewal told the court.

On Friday, the bench heard several public interest litigations (PIL) and directed the NHRC to form a committee and examine the complaints it has received and visit the affected areas if required.

The court said the committee must restore the confidence of the people and see whether their safety and livelihood have been affected by the alleged violence. The bench directed the state government to provide logistic support to the committee during visits to the affected areas and said action would be taken if the NHRC faces any obstruction.

The court also asked the member secretary of the WBSLSA to be a part of the NHRC’s committee along with a member of the state human rights commission.

“It is the duty of the state to maintain law and order and instil confidence in citizens,” the bench observed on Friday. It said a report prepared by the member secretary of WBSLSA mentioned that complaints were received from 3,243 people till June 10. The complaints were divided into six categories ranging from looting and arson to demand of ransom.

The first significant order, in this case, was passed on May 31 when the bench ordered the constitution of a three-member committee comprising officers from the NHRC, state human rights commission, and the WBSLSA to monitor the return of people who were forced to leave their homes owing to post-poll violence at the Entally assembly constituency in Kolkata.

The order was passed while hearing a case filed by Tibrewal, who contested the Entally seat but lost to Swarna Kamal Saha of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Tibrewal alleged that people were threatened and forced to flee.

On June 4, the five-judge bench directed the state to rehabilitate people who left home because of post-poll violence in the districts of Bengal.

‘’On receipt of the aforesaid complaints filed by the persons concerned in different districts in the state of West Bengal, the competent authority shall take appropriate steps for their rehabilitation immediately thereafter and report to this court on the next date of hearing,’’ the bench said.

After the bench refused to recall its order to the NHRC on Monday, TMC Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, “We will not comment on the court’s decision. The government will examine it and take action.”

The BJP took a dig at the administration.

“Rape, murder, arson, every heinous crime took place and the state government denied it. Bengal’s politics of violence is established today. This is a tight slap on the face of the @MamataOfficial and the @AITCofficial govt,” tweeted Ritesh Tiwari, BJP state vice-president.