Kolkata: Calcutta High Court is most likely to pass judgement today on the post-election violence that shook West Bengal. A larger panel of five judges will render its verdict at 11 am. The bench consists of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen, and Subrata Talukdar. The ruling will be delivered via video conference.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team investigating the post-election violence in West Bengal submitted its final report to the Calcutta High Court on July 15. A 50-page report described the situation in the state as a manifestation of the law of the ruler rather than the rule of law.
According to the final report of the committee, ‘This was retributive violence by supporters of the ruling party against supporters of the main opposition party.’ The report recommended handing over the investigation of grievous crimes like rape and murder to the Central Bureau of Investigation and that the cases should be tried outside of state jurisdiction.
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On July 2, the Calcutta High Court had made similar observations, saying the state government was in denial mode about the violence that broke out after the elections in May. There was enough evidence to prove that post-poll violence had indeed occurred, the report said.
A senior advocate, representing the West Bengal DGP, criticized the findings and recommendations of the NHRC committee during submissions, saying they were erroneous and biased, and that some of the panel members had links with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to the PILs filed in the aftermath of the post-poll violence, people were assaulted, forced to flee their homes and their properties were destroyed.
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