Sandeshkhali: SC stays Lok Sabha notices to West Bengal chief secy, DG

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the notices issued by the privileges committee of the Lok Sabha secretariat to the West Bengal chief secretary, DG (director-general of police) and others over a complaint of "misconduct" filed against them by BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar.

Majumdar claimed to have sustained injuries last week as BJP workers clashed with police personnel after being stopped from going to violence-hit Sandeshkhali in West Bengal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and justices J.B. Pardiwla and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the state officials, and stayed the notices issued seeking their presence at 10.30 am on Monday.

The counsel for the Lok Sabha secretariat opposed the grant of stay by the top court, saying this was the first sitting of the privileges committee. “They are not being accused of anything. This is a regular process. Once an MP sends a notice and the speaker thinks there is something to look into, then notices are issued,” the counsel said.

West Bengal chief secretary Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika and DG Rajeev Kumar were summoned by the Lok Sabha secretariat to appear on Monday.

The Supreme Court bench issued notices to the Lok Sabha secretariat and others and sought their responses in four weeks, and in the meanwhile stayed the proceedings before the panel of the lower house.

Majumdar and others were stopped from entering Sandeshkhali, where women have been agitating over alleged atrocities committed against them by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides.

A number of women in the locality have accused Sheikh and his associates of "land-grabbing and sexually assaulting" them under coercion. Two of those associates, Uttam Sardar and Shibaparasad Hazra, have since been arrested by West Bengal Police, while Sheikh has been absconding since an Enforcement Directorate raid on his premises on 5 January, when the ED team was beaten back by a mob of presumably his supporters.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW) led by chairperson Rekha Sharma is scheduled to visit Sandeshkhali on Monday. Last week, two members of the NCW had visited the area and submitted a report revealing a "troubling pattern of negligence and complicity" by the Bengal government and law enforcement officials.

"We want to talk to the victims. We will then meet the West Bengal governor and then the president in New Delhi tomorrow. Even if one incident takes place, it is shameful," Sharma said, and alleged that the TMC government is "not allowing the state administration to cooperate" with central agencies.

As the situation in Sandeshkhali gradually returns to normal following a week of protests, the TMC has dubbed the NCW visit as politically motivated. "The NCW is quick to visit West Bengal. But has never shown similar promptness in visiting BJP-ruled states," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.