'Political Vendetta': BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari Files Plea In Calcutta High Court Seeking Transfer Of Criminal Cases To CBI

Alleging that he is a victim of 'political vendatta', Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) MLA Suvendu Adhikari has filed a writ petition before the Calcutta High Court seeking the transfer of all criminal cases registered against him by the state police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The plea also prayed for the quashing of all criminal complaints registered against Adhikari by the State police authorities. 

In his plea, Suvendu Adhikari contended that he is bring targeted by the ruling party through a barrage of criminal cases merely because of joining the rival party i.e. the BJP back in December 2020. On May 2, 2021 the BJP MLA had narrowly defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the State Assembly elections while contesting from the Nandigram constituency. 

Highlighting the prevalent practice of the State police authorities being at the beck and call of the State government, Adhikari alleged,

"It is atrocious that the petitioner is facing such absurd criminal prosecution one after another in a span of two months solely for his political ideologies. Thus the petitioner is undergoing the severities of a political sacrifice at the hand s of a dastardly State police administration who are executing the iniquitous desires of a Ruling dispensation hell-bent to wipe out any Opposition or dissenting voice. The monstrosity of the entire situation faced by the petitioner is illegal to state the least, and reduces the cherished fundamental rights of the petitioner into a façade"

Averments in the plea:

TMC's alleged history of initiating frivolous criminal proceedings against turncoat leaders:

Suvendu Adhikari contended in his plea that the ruling TMC (All India Trinamool Congress) party through the State machinery has a history of initiating false criminal cases against prominent leaders who have changed their political allegiance from the TMC to the BJP party. Highlighting one such example, Adhiakri submitted that soon after TMC Leader Mukul Roy switched over to the BJP back in November 2017, multiple cases were registered against him for the misappropriation of funds during his tenure as the Union Railway Minister.

"Such allegations were perceptibly, fallacious and vexatious and were merely a tool for political harassment and humiliation, however, it required the intervention of this Hon'ble Court as well as the Hon'ble Apex Court, to lay bare the frivolity of such cases, who were pleased to quash certain cases and pass interim orders of no coercive measures in respect of the others", Adhikari opined.

Alleged withdrawal of Adhikari's security cover by the State government:

Adhikari further alleged in the plea that soon after the declaration of the results of the State Assembly Elections 2021, the security cover provided to him by the State was arbitrarily withdrawn on May 18, 2021. He contended that the High court had come to his rescue in this regard by directing the State government to reinstate his security vide order dated July 2, 2021.

It is to be noted that Justice Shivakant Prasad vide the aforementioned order had observed that Adhikari's security arrangement as a Z category protectee was well maintained by the State government in terms of the report of the Director Security, Government of West Bengal. However, the High Court had cautioned the State government to continue to maintain such a security coverage as it was the need of the hour.

Transfer of an array of criminal cases filed against Adhikari to the CBI:

The State police and its Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are currently probing a number of cases that relate to Adhiakri. In this regard, he remarked in his plea that 'frivolous cases are being instituted against him which are vexatious and outlandish'.

Adhikari referred to a case registered by petitioner Sujit Dey at the Manicktala Police Station that involve allegations of corruption at the Department of Irrigations and Waterways, Government of West Bengal during the period between July to September 2019. Accordingly in the plea Adhikari alleged, "Though the petitioner has not been named in the First Information Report, yet it is palpable that the petitioner herein is the end-target of the said case". It was further noted that there had been a delay of nearly one and a half years in registering the complaint from the alleged date of offence. Accordingly the plea stated that the registered criminal complaint ought to be quashed or in the alternative transferred to an independent agency such as the CBI.

"A free and fair investigation i.e. a basic right which has been enshrined to every citizen of the country, however the mala-fide approach of the State police administration which is acting on the dictum of the leaders of the Ruling Party, thoroughly destroys such basic right", the plea contended.

Similar assertions were made by the petitioner against a host of other criminal cases filed against him. An FIR had been registered by the Contai police against Adhikari and his brother Soumendu for allegedly stealing tarpaulins from the Contai Municipality's godown on May 29, 2021.

It is to be noted that Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the High Court vide order dated June 14, 2021 had refused to quash the FIR registered by the Contai police in this regard.

Further, the State CID is also investigating an unnatural death of a police constable, who was part of Adhikari's security team three years ago when he was a Minister in the previous TMC government. A case of murder was instituted recently on the basis of a complaint of the constable's widow and the probe was handed over to the CID by the State. In the plea, Adhiakri has sought for the transfer of the investigation of this case to the CBI by observing,

"It is alarming to note that, merely to falsely rope in the petitioner herein in a vexatious criminal case, the state police machinery had to undertake such lengths which reflects the banana republic state of affairs. Moreover, in spite of the entire incident being that of suicide, all of a sudden after a period of three years, a criminal case, giving colours of section 302 of the IPC has been instituted."

Violation of Article 21 of the Constitution: 

The plea contended that the petitioner's right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution has been violated by falsely implicating him in such frivolous cases.

"In the instant case the police administration being hand in glove with their political masters of the Ruling party, has trodden such aforesaid cherished right of the petitioner by maliciously instituting cases which are manifestly false on the face of it", the plea read.

Case Title: Suvendu Adhikari v. State of West Bengal