Calcutta HC stays own order giving nod to BJP rath yatra
APPEARING FOR BENGAL POLICE, ABHISHEK SINGHVI, ALSO A CONG MP, SAID THE EARLIER BENCH DID NOT STUDY INTEL REPORTS BEFORE PASSING ITS ORDER
KOLKATA: A division bench of the Kolkata high court stayed Thursday’s order by a single-judge bench giving conditional approval to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) rath yatra, disrupting the party’s plans to flag off the first rally of the yatra from the temple town of Tarapith in Birbhum district on Saturday.
Appearing on behalf of the West Bengal Police, Abhishek Singhvi, Congress MP and senior advocate, argued that the single bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty did not study the intelligence reports submitted in a sealed envelope before passing its order. He added that the reports are detailed ones in which the police have mapped out the route that the yatra is supposed to take and undertaken a thorough risk analysis.
The division bench of Chief Justice Debasish Kar Gupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar observed that the single-judge bench has to go through the reports in order to pronounce an objective order.
Significantly, the court will break for Christmas vacation on Saturday and resume business on January 2. There will be a vacation bench only for one day in between, reducing the chances that the matter may be heard before January. “The division bench has not disallowed the yatra. Our legal battle will continue. So will our agitation and programmes in different districts,” said BJP Bengal unit president, Dilip Ghosh.
“The state government wants to block the programme by hook or by crook. Therefore, we have called our rally a Save Democracy rally. We will decide our next step after consulting our lawyers,” added BJP Bengal unit vice-president, Jay Prakash Majumdar.
Majumdar said the party will decide within a day or two whether to go back to the single bench or the Supreme Court.
“There is a distinct apprehension of communal disharmony being triggered in Bengal over the yatra. That’s why the government is fighting it out in the courts,” said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, leader of the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha.
On Friday morning, BJP leaders said that the yatra would commence after a public meeting at noon at the Rampurhat rail grounds, where BJP president Amit Shah would address the public. On Thursday, the single bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty criticised the Mamata Banerjee government for rejecting the BJP’S programme “in a whimsical and unreasonable manner”.the court allowed the yatras subject to a few conditions.
Incidentally, Friday was the last day of Chief Justice Kar Gupta. Senior most Justice Biswanath Somadder will become the acting CJ when the court reopens.
Meanwhile, Singhvi’s court appearance on behalf of the West Bengal police has ruffled feathers within his own party. Singhvi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2018 from West Bengal with the support of the Trinamool Congress. Irate state Congress workers agitated outside the court on Friday. “State Congress president Somen Mitra will lodge a complaint with party president Rahul Gandhi about it,” said state Congress spokesperson Ritzu Ghosal. “Only a small number of people protested and are making an issue out of it. I don’t take unsolicited advice since I always compartmentalise my political and professional life,” Singhvi told the media at a press conference. “A rath yatra with a communal overture is being opposed by a government and not by any political party. What’s wrong in my representing the government?” Singhvi asked.