The Calcutta High Court of the Indian state of West Bengal dismissed Thursday a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a special investigation into the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in early January. In Indian High courts, PIL refers to a legal mechanism that allows individuals or groups to seek judicial intervention on matters of public concern for the protection of public interest.
The court dismissed the PIL filed by a practicing advocate who sought a writ of mandamus against the National Investigating Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate an incident at Sandeshkhali. The filing was based solely on newspaper reports, without substantial research. A writ of mandamus is a court order compelling a public official or body to perform a duty or correct an abuse of discretion. Indian high courts are empowered to issue this writ by virtue of Article 226 of the Indian Constitution. The court deemed that the petitioner did not provide sufficient grounds for the court’s intervention, especially given the expertise of the ED in handling such matters. Hence, the petition was not entertained. The Chief Justice of the High Court reportedly remarked:
Earlier PILs would come due to failure of state machinery, asking for a central agency. Here this agency is a central agency, highly technical, they can take care of themselves. Who are you? You have collected newspaper cuttings, without doing any research. Someone cannot fire off your shoulders. Therefore unless the petitioner establishes that he has done research, more than paper cuttings, it is very difficult. You don’t plead the case of the ED or the State police. They are all highly technical people, they can handle themselves. If they want protection or throw up their hands and come to court, then we will look into it. They know what to do. ASG, DSG are all there. Why does the HC have to intervene? They have all the power to do whatever they want. Why are you trying to canvass their case? Let them come and say they are powerless and they want to support you.
Three criminal complaints have been registered in West Bengal, including two against unidentified individuals for assaulting ED officials in the Sandeshkhali region. One complaint accused the ED officials of criminal trespass and intending to outrage a woman’s modesty, alleging they entered a Trinamool Congress party leader’s residence without a search warrant. The other two complaints related to the assault on ED officials, involving charges of rioting and assault on public servants under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
