New Delhi, Mar 26 (IANS): The Supreme Court Friday stayed a Calcutta High Court order which revived cases against the election agent of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with the Nandigram protests against land acquisition by the state government.
A bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Krishna Murari said the High Court order was passed without hearing petitioner S K Supian, therefore "we deem it appropriate to pass an interim order staying the operation of the order dated March 5, 2021".
Supian had moved the top court against the High Court order reviving charges of unlawful assembly and violence against him in connection with the 2007 Nandigram violence. In February last year, Supian was discharged by a magistrate in these matters. The High Court order was passed on two PILs against the withdrawal of prosecution.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing Supian, argued that his client was not made a party in the PILs and alleged that a PIL was filed by a BJP person in the High Court on which order was passed. Singh added the reinstitution of cases has virtually disabled his client from performing functions as an election agent under the Representation of People Act 1951.
"There has been no trial or conviction in these cases due to lack of evidence and due to the wrongful basis for instituting these cases. That in February 2020, these cases were finally withdrawn upon application by the Additional Public Prosecutor and with the consent of the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Midnapore, West Bengal by order dated February 10, 2020," said the plea filed by Supian.
Senior advocates A.M. Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra, representing the state government, also opposed the High Court's interim order and urged the top court to stay the order.
Opposing the High Court, the state's counsel argued that the top court had given power to state government to withdraw such cases in political agitations. "The Calcutta HC has delivered a completely erroneous judgment", said the counsel.