West Bengal post-poll violence: Calcutta High Court asks NHRC to examine complaints

Calcutta High Court yesterday directed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to set up a committee for examining all cases of alleged human rights violations during post-assembly poll violence in West Bengal, saying the state has not taken concrete steps to address 3,243 complaints lodged over the issue till June 3. 

"The persons prima facie responsible for crime and the officers who maintained calculated silence on the issue, be pointed out," said the five-judge bench of the High Court, which heard the allegations.

The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, observed that in a case where the allegation is that life and property of the residents of the state is in danger on account of alleged post-poll violence, the state cannot be allowed to proceed in the manner it likes.

Noting that the complaints required immediate action, the bench said, "Somehow from the facts as are available on record and are sought to be projected by the petitioners, such an action is missing."

The bench said complaints with regard to post-poll violence received by the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (WBSLSA) have been tabulated in six different categories: (A) property vandalised/ looted/ damaged by miscreants, (B) threat by miscreants as a result of which the applicant(s) are out of his/their house and requires to be reinstated, (C) assault/sexual assault by miscreants, (D) grabbing/encroaching of property by miscreants,(E) shop/business forcefully closed by miscreants and (F) demand of ransom by miscreants.

It was mentioned in a report by the Member Secretary of WBSLSA that 3,243 persons had reported suffering till noon of June 10, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The WBSLSA Member-Secretary further mentioned that in a number of cases, the complaints were referred to the concerned superintendent of police or the police stations but no response has been received.

The bench said, "The state from the very beginning had been denying everything. But the facts as have been placed on record by the petitioners and also as is evident a little bit from the report dated June 3, 2021 filed by the Member Secretary of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, are different."

The bench had on May 31 ordered the constitution of a three-member committee comprising an officer each from the NHRC, WBHRC and West Bengal State Legal Services Authority to monitor and coordinate the return of people, who were forced to leave owing to post-poll violence, to their homes at Entally assembly area in Kolkata.

The court directed that the committee will examine all the cases, the complaints of which have already been received by the NHRC or which may be received, and "may be by visiting the affected areas" and submit a comprehensive report to it about the present situation.

The bench directed the state government to provide all logistic support to the committee wherever and whenever they wish to visit any place and to ensure there is no obstruction of any kind in this process.

"Such obstruction will be viewed seriously, which may entail action under the Contempt of Courts Act besides others," the bench said in its order.