RG Kar Protests| Supreme Court Dismisses West Bengal Govt's Challenge To HC Ordering Release Of Student Leader

The bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing West Bengal's challenge against the Calcutta High Court order directing the release of Sayan Lahiri the alleged leader of the 'Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj', an organization which led a call for protests and march towards the State secretariat in Nabanna.

Notably, the protests though claimed to be peaceful, resulted in widespread violence, resulting in grave injuries to both protestors and police personnel. 

At the outset, the State of West Bengal submitted that the rally in question was organized by three persons including Lahiri. The Court was informed that there are 11 FIRs against Lahiri relating to the offences of unlawful assembly, rioting and voluntarily causing hurt. When the bench asked as to who all were grievously hurt, the Counsel submitted that 41 police officials located at different sites were hurt. 

Justice Pardiwala asked why Lahiri had been arrayed under the said charges. He further said, "It is a case of bail, no doubt about it, prima facie. The only point for consideration is , in a writ petition filed by the mother whether this relief could be granted or not, thats the short point."  

Notably, Lahiri's mother moved the High Court under Article 226 for quashing the FIRs against him. 

Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appearing for Anjali Lahiri(petitioner before the HC) informed the court that the accused was previously part of the ruling party and subsequently his political affiliation changed. The intimation of the protests was given to the state authorities on August 26 and the organizers also informed the state of the possibility of miscreants who may jeopardize the peaceful agitators. 

Justice Pardiwala remarked that the ideal approach for the State before the High Court should have been to raise objections as to why no separate petitions under S.428 CrPC were filed quashing each of the FIRs. 

The Counsel for state submitted that the rally was 'orchestrated' by a 'master mind' who is named by other persons arrested. The question for consideration is- whether it was an organized rally intended to turn violent. He referred to the previous observations of the Top Court where the Court directed the state to ensure protests are done peacefully as per law. 

Justice Pardiwala, disinclined to entertain the matter any further said : 

"It's alright, dismissed, next matter." 

Observations By The High Court 

The High Court bench of Justice Amrita Sinha observed that the police authorities ought to have handled the matter in a more sensitive way instead of targeting the protestors from preventing their agitations. 

"The authorities ought to appreciate that the protests are more in the form of a social uproar against the unfortunate incident at RG Kar. Such type of public dissent is required to be dealt with in a matured manner and not by unleashing force upon the protestors."  

The Court further noted that it was incorrect to assume that Sayan Lahiri was the leader of the protests and that the birth of Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj was a by-product of the RG Kar incident's anguish.  

"Had the RG Kar incident not occurred, there would not have been the existence of the Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj. Thousands of common people joined the protest rally. The son of the petitioner may have played an active role and may have been a bit more vocal than the other protestors. The same does not ipso facto mean that the son of the petitioner is the leader of the rally"

The Court further relied on the Supreme Court's judgement in the case of Arnab Goswami to set out the cases where the court could take cognizance of such issues, and thus allowed the petitioner to be released on bail and restrained the police from taking any coercive action against him.

On a query from the Court as to whether the organization or the association that the son of the petitioner is representing is a registered one or not, it was submitted by the advocate for the petitioner that 'Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj' is not a registered association. It is only a group of students who have voluntarily and spontaneously joined to protest against the incident of rape and murder in the RG Kar Hospital.

It was stated that the son of the petitioner is merely one of the protestors. He was severely disturbed by the incident and became vocal in the marches led by the protestors.

Background

RG Kar hospital has been the scene of a gruesome rape and murder of a 2nd Year PG medical student, last week, leading to mammoth protests across the country. The High Court had transferred the probe into the doctor's rape and murder to the CBI, which had just begun its investigation a day before the vandalism occurred.

The High Court transferred the investigation into the gruesome incident to the CBI, upon noting that the state police had not been proactive in the investigation of the incident and the state administration was not "with the victim or her parents."

The matter was also taken up suo moto by the Supreme Court which passed directions to ensure that the identity and photos of the victim were not circulated on social media, as well as for security at RG Kar hospital, and to form a task force to look into instances of sexual violence against medical professionals.