“Transfer Shahjahan Sheikh to CBI by 4:15 PM”: The Calcutta High Court gives the West Bengal government new instructions

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday issued new instructions to the state police, requesting that they turn over the Sandeshkhali prime accused to the central agency by 4.15 PM today. This comes a day after the West Bengal government refused to turn over Shahjahan Sheikh’s custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The ruling was made in response to a CBI appeal asking for the West Bengal administration to be held in contempt for disobeying the High Court’s Tuesday order. The Enforcement Directorate’s request to have the CBI take up the investigation into the January 5 assault on the agency’s team, which was purportedly carried out at Shahjahan’s request, was granted by the HC yesterday.

The case was moved from the Bengal police to the CID after Shahjahan was arrested on February 29. The High Court had mandated that the CID turn over the investigation into the assault on ED agents and Shahjahan’s detention to the CBI by 4:15 PM on Tuesday.

The CID, however, disregarded the court’s orders and petitioned the Supreme Court for an expedited hearing in order to contest the HC’s ruling. The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, has not yet scheduled a hearing on the case.

The CBI took over the case’s investigation on Tuesday from the CID, and it has been reported that three FIRs have been filed. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju spoke on behalf of the ED in the Calcutta High Court today. He said that the government had not given Shahjahan’s custody since it has appealed the HC’s ruling to the Supreme Court.

“The High Court’s ruling is not being stayed by any order. This is a violation of the High Court’s ruling. It can’t hold out…then, the order’s goal is defeated,” the ASG said.

According to the CBI’s attorney, all West Bengal authorities had been informed of the High Court’s ruling by the investigation team. The CBI lawyer said, “Letters have been sent to the DGP, Chief Secretary, including Addtl DG, CID,” quoting a letter from the DGP of West Bengal indicating that the case was brought up in the Supreme Court and that the CBI needs to wait for its resolution.

The Sandeshkhali issue has escalated into a major political dispute between West Bengal’s governing Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, just before the Lok Sabha elections. Women in Sandeskhali have submitted many complaints after the attack on the ED team on January 5, accusing Shahjahan and his allies of sexual assault and land grabs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the state’s Mamata Banerjee-led administration of protecting the Sandeshkhali culprits during a speech at a rally in Barasat on Wednesday.

Women in this holy place have suffered violations under TMC. Anybody would be embarrassed by the Sandeshkhali incidents, yet the TMC government is indifferent to your hardships. The government of TMC is determined to rescue the offender. Both the High Court and the Supreme Court subsequently denounced their actions. TMC leaders are torturing women from Adivasi, Dalit, and impoverished communities. PM Modi said, “The TMC government has less faith in its leaders than it has in the ladies of Bengal.