WB government's appeal against the Calcutta HC ruling granting Suvendu Adhikari protection is dismissed by the SC.

The West Bengal government's appeal against a decision of the Calcutta High Court's division bench dismissing an appeal against an order of its single bench halting criminal proceedings against BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Monday. The Supreme Court stated that the order in question from the high court single judge bench had already been challenged before it (the Supreme Court), and that it had dealt with it on merit and issued an order on December 13 of last year. When everything was argued before the Supreme Court, a panel of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna advised senior lawyer Maneka Guruswamy, acting for the West Bengal government, that there was no need to file a Letter Patent Appeal before the Calcutta High Court division bench." On September 6th of last year, we heard an appeal against the same order of the court of appeals."

According to Guruswamy, the Supreme Court did not issue a decision on the merits on December 13 of last year. She explained that because a similar case is currently before the Supreme Court, the court may issue a notice and link it to that case. The bench stated that the West Bengal government has already appeared before the court in that matter and that it does not wish to tag this case.

A single bench of the Calcutta High Court granted Adhikari temporary relief against summonses issued by the state police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection with an inquiry into the death of his bodyguard on September 6 last year.

Last December, the Supreme Court refused to overturn a high court judgement from September 6 that barred police from taking any coercive action against Adhikari in criminal cases involving the unnatural death of his bodyguard. The CID had summoned Adhikari to testify in connection with its probe into the murder complaint filed by the guard's widow in 2021, but the BJP MLA declined, citing pending lawsuits in the high court disputing FIRs against him in various cases, as well as political engagements.

Adhikari's case was stayed by a single judge high court panel in three instances including the killing of his bodyguard in an alleged political clash in Nandigram, as well as another criminal charge of snatching lodged in Contai. The court had ordered that no coercive action be taken against him in connection with an alleged job fraud case filed with the Maniktala police station in Kolkata and a case of allegedly intimidating police in Tamluk, allowing investigation. In the cases filed in Contai and Maniktala police stations, he is not a named defendant. The bench had ordered the state government to provide details on any new FIRs filed against Adhikari, and that the state would have to get permission from the court before arresting him or taking any coercive action against him in any of these cases.

The high court had ordered the BJP leader to cooperate with investigators in the two instances under investigation, while also stating that investigators will, to the extent practicable, accommodate him if he is compelled to deliver any statement from a location other than his home.