Supreme Court
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the CBI for casting aspersions on all courts in West Bengal and making scandalous remarks in its plea seeking the transfer of all 2021 post-poll violence cases outside the state.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal took umbrage with the averments made in the transfer petition, prompting Additional Solicitor General S V Raju to withdraw the plea.
Taking up the petition, the bench observed, "What kind of grounds are taken in this petition that all courts in West Bengal have a hostile environment. Blanket averment as been made that courts are illegally granting bail. This is casting aspersions that the entire judiciary is under hostile environment."
The bench felt if the court transferred those cases it would mean certifying that there is a hostile atmosphere in all the courts in the state and that courts over there are not functioning.
"Your officers may not like the judicial officer or a particular state but don't say that the entire judiciary is not functioning. The judges the district judges and civil judges and sessions judges can't come here and defend themselves," the bench observed.
The bench also asked him how the CBI can say there was a hostile environment in West Bengal courts.
"It is unfortunate that the central agency made such comments against the judiciary," the court said.
The court even threatened to issue contempt notice to the counsel who drafted the instant transfer petition.
The court allowed the law officer to withdraw the petition with a liberty to file a fresh plea.
A separate bench of the apex court had in February, this year issued notice to the West Bengal government on a plea by the CBI to transfer multiple cases lodged following a series of violence after Assembly polls in 2021 outside the state owing to alleged "open threats and intimidation of not only to witnesses but to counsel as well".
The court had also ordered for stay on the proceedings in the cases referred by the CBI.
The court had allowed a request made by Raju on behalf of the CBI for publication of the notice in local newspapers.
Raju had then submitted that the officers, officials, the complainants, advocates and the witnesses were "being openly threatened and intimidated, thus obstructing and impeding the cause and course of justice".
"Despite the matter having brought to the notice of the authorities, no action at the ground level appears to have been taken," the bench had then noted.
He had also referred to the recommendation of the report of the enquiry committee of July 12, 2021 prepared by the National Human Rights Commission, categorically recommending trial of all cases investigated by the CBI to be held outside the State of West Bengal.