The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the West Bengal government challenging an earlier order by the Calcutta High Court directing a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the allegations of land grab, sexual harassment and violence in Sandeshkhali by suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Shaikh and his followers.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan was hearing the plea which was last heard on April 29 and adjourned at the request of the state’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The hearing was adjourned on the condition that the pendency of the petition would not be used as a ground for any other purpose.

At the hearing today, Singhvi argued that the HC’s order sought to cover an alleged ration scam for which 43 FIRs were registered since 2020, besides other incidents of sexual assault and land grabbing that were already in the notice of the courts. “Far-reaching directions to CBI at the most could be restricted to two FIRs, which related to ED officials. Now the impugned directions cover everything,” Singhvi argued.

The court, however, remained unimpressed with the submissions and upheld the High Court’s orders, stating that all FIRs covered in the impugned order pertained to Sandeshkhali. Justice Gavai further observed that the state government failed to take any action for months and reiterated a question that the court had posed earlier: “Why should the state be interested in protecting someone?”

On February 13 this year, the Calcutta High Court took suo moto cognizance of newspaper reports on alleged sexual harassment of women in Sandeshkhali and tribal lands that had been forcibly taken over. It eventually passed orders directing a CBI probe into the matter.

Shahjahan Sheikh, who was elected as a Karmadhaksya of Zilla Parishad, North 24 Parganas, was the prime accused in almost 42 criminal cases related to Sandeshkhali. In March this year, the probe into an alleged attack by Shahjahan’s men on ED officials who had gone to Sandeshkhali to raid the residence of the former in connection with a ration scam was transferred to the CBI and eventually upheld by the Supreme Court.

(With inputs from agencies and Live Law)