The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the West Bengal government's plea seeking an urgent hearing on the Sandeshkhali case which pertains to assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in January.
What did the top court say?
In its order, the top court also refused to put a stay on the Calcutta High Court order which directed the State to immediately hand over custody of ex-Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Responding to the plea, Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that the Chief Justice of India will take note of urgent listing applications during lunch hour.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state government had moved to the apex court demanding an early hearing after refusing to transfer Shahjahan to CBI custody.
West Bengal govt moves apex court
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the West Bengal government, mentioned the plea before a bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. The plea pertained to the central probe agency's request for immediate compliance with a high court order, which involved transferring the probe to it.
The state government had also sought urgent listing of the plea on Tuesday evening. In response, the bench instructed the state government counsel to bring the matter to the attention of the Registrar General of the Supreme Court.
ED, Bengal govt pleas in HC
Both, the ED and the West Bengal government moved separate appeals in the high court challenging a single bench order which had on January 17 ordered the formation of a joint Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI and the state police to probe the mob attack on the ED officials.
While the ED wanted the probe to be transferred to the CBI solely, the state prayed that the investigation be given to its police. The high court, while agreeing to ED's request, also directed that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency.
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