Last Update: December 08, 2022, 14:35 IST
The officer alleged in his petition that the FIR was deliberately lodged against him on the instructions of the Trinamool Congress, the state’s ruling party. (Image: Twitter)
Recently, Shubhendu Adhikari approached a bench of justices at the Calcutta High Court to either quash all FIRs lodged against him or bring in an independent agency like the CBI.
A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday stayed all 26 FIRs filed by the West Bengal Police against Shubhendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.
The officer recently appealed to a bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha to either quash the FIR lodged against him or allow an independent agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe such cases.
In his petition, he also alleged that the FIR was deliberately lodged against him out of political vendetta under instructions from the ruling party, the Trinamool Congress.
During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Mantha questioned the registration of so many FIRs even after the Calcutta High Court shielded the officer against any concerted action.
Justice Mantha further said that the officers are the leaders of the opposition elected by the people and in such circumstances, the police either on their own or on the instructions of someone cannot take steps to stop their actions.
“The court cannot ignore all the apprehensions of the Leader of the Opposition on this issue,” he added.
The bench also asked the state government to file its reply in the form of an affidavit within the next six weeks, after which the court would decide whether to hand over the matter to an independent agency for investigation.
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