The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the proceedings initiated by the Parliament Committee against West Bengal Chief Secretary Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika, Director General of State Police Rajeev Kumar, and other senior officials.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, has issued notices to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, and the Union Home Ministry, requesting their responses within four weeks. Similar notices have also been served to Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika, Rajeev Kumar, and the local District Magistrate.
The Supreme Court’s order comes after top officials, including Gopalika, approached the court challenging the notices issued by the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee. The notices were in response to a complaint by Sukanta Majumdar, alleging “misconduct, brutality, and life-threatening injuries” during a protest at Sandeshkhali violence.
The plea, filed through Advocate on Record (AoR) Astha Sharma, contends that these senior officials of the State of West Bengal have conducted themselves with utmost integrity and followed due procedures while discharging their respective duties.
The petitioners further assert that due to such diktat, they are being treated as the perpetrators, causing grave prejudice to them in discharging their daily responsibilities.
“At the outset it is submitted that the issuance of Impugned Memorandums is arbitrary, without the examination of the veracity of the allegations levelled in said complaint and thus violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the plea stated.
Additionally, the plea noted that the complaint filed by Sukanta Majumdar is ‘unsubstantiated, vague and does not make out any case for breach of privilege.’
“The impugned action is ex-facie illegal and sans jurisdiction and constitutes a blatant case of misuse of the power of privilege. Article 14 of the Constitution of India mandates that all persons including Members of Parliament should be treated equally before the law,” the petition read.
On Monday, the Lok Sabha Privilege Committee had to be adjourned due to a lack of quorum, with only four MPs, including the chairman, present. The quorum required a minimum of five MPs to be present.
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