'HC lost sight of fact..': Mamata moves SC in Narada sting case

The Supreme Court will, on Tuesday, hear West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's appeal challenging the Calcutta High Court order refusing her and state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak to file affidavits on their role on May 17 when four Trinamool Congress leaders were arrested by the CBI in connection with the Narada sting tape case.

A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Aniruddha Bose will hear the separate appeals filed by the Chief Minister, Ghatak and the West Bengal government.

The plea filed by the Chief Minister, through advocate Astha Sharma, said the High Court order is against all canons of substantial justice, more so in light of the fact that the CBI was able to not only get an urgent listing but also stay of the order passed by the special CBI judge on May 17, without filing any pleadings along with requisite affidavits, merely on the basis of an e-mail, without any notice to the parties concerned, including the petitioner.

"The allegations made by the CBI against the petitioner, in relation to the events, are contradictory and have been made in an attempt to mislead the court. Allegations regarding the petitioner's presence at Nizam Palace Complex, which houses the CBI office, are factual averments, and requires response by the petitioner herein so as to refute the claim by the CBI for the matter to be adjudicated on merits, especially when the allegation itself is contradictory in nature," said the plea.

It said that the High Court "has lost sight of the fact that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, and it is perpetuating the illegality by imposing different standards for parties in the same case, in an arbitrary manner, and in utter disregard to the principles of equity and natural justice".

The top court had said that it would hear the appeal filed by Ghatak on June 22.

The five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on June 9, hearing the CBI's application for transfer of the Narada sting tape case from the special CBI court to the High Court, had said it will consider later the affidavits by Banerjee and Ghatak.

"The petitioner at no point made a forcible entry at the office of the CBI, rather she cleared a three tier system of central paramilitary security, as applicable to all persons entering the CBI office premises which is situated on the 13th to 15th floor of the building in Nizam Palace. The petitioner on May 17, 2021, at the time when she was present at the CBI office, abided by all directions issued by officers of the CBI and any allegation to the contrary is contrived," added Banerjee's plea.

The allegation levelled are that Trinamool leaders played key role in stopping the CBI from performing its legal duty after arresting four party leaders on May 17 in the case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had contended before the court that the affidavits cannot be accepted on the ground of delay as they were filed after the completion of his arguments. On June 9, the High Court had decided to consider later the affidavits filed by Banerjee and Ghatak.