SC Refuses To Declines Mamta Govt's Plea Against Protection To Suvendu Adhikari

Three times MLA Suvendu Adhikari took to micro-blogging website Twitter to affirm his faith in Judiciary. 

The greatest strength of the judiciary is the faith of the people in it. As the Hon’ble Supreme Court refuses to entertain the Special Leave Petition filed by West Bengal Govt against me, would like to remind her; "However high & mighty you may be, the law treats you equally as others."

For the uninitiated, Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a special leave petition filed by West Bengal Government opposing the protection granted to Adhikari as per a Calcutta High Court order. 

A leading daily quoted the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court as saying, "Parties would be governed by the order which was passed by this court on 13 December 2021. In view of the above clarification, it is not necessary or appropriate to entertain the present special leave petition."

What is the feud between Mamta Banerjee Government and Suvendu Adhikari all about

Things apparently seem to have turned sour between the two parties after Adhikari switched from TMC to BJP. As many as six separate FIR's were registered against Adhikari after his change in political allegiance in 2020. Although Adhikari called it a clear case of harassment, the State government has been outrightly denying the allegations. Rebutting his claims, the West Bengal Government has stated that his political move to another party has got nothing to do with the case against him. 

What do the FIRs against Suvendu Adhikari say?

A crux the 6 FIRs registered against Adhikari reveals that he allegedly violated the Covid 19 guidelines and was responsible for large unlawful gatherings during the West Bengal elections in 2021. The charges levied against him also point out to his alleged involvement in the violence that took place during the election rallies. 

However, Calcutta HC's stance in the high profile political cases favored Suvendu Adhikari while giving him interim relief in the matter. The High Court had noted that the attempt to implicate Adhikari in criminal cases is an attempt to victimize him.

While the state police cannot take any coercive and malicious action against Adhikari, it remains to be seen if the state government will proceed to file a motion for expeditious hearing of the matter in the Calcutta High Court.