The West Bengal government has filed a petition with the Supreme Court, challenging the order of the Calcutta High Court. The High Court had declined to grant a stay on the investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding an alleged municipality recruitment scam. The government’s lawyer, Advocate Sunil Fernandes, requested an urgent listing of the plea before a bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and KV Viswanathan. Fernandes argued that the accused individuals require protection, as the investigative agencies continue their proceedings.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to the state government’s plea, questioning how a state could file a petition against an order related to a CBI or ED probe. He suggested that such a plea would be more understandable if it were filed by an accused party. The court decided to hear the matter after the vacation period, setting the date for July 3, and instructed the lawyer to mention it again at that time.
In its petition, the West Bengal government challenged the interim order issued on May 22, 2023, by the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court. The bench had refused to grant interim relief to stay the order passed on April 21 by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, which was subsequently modified by the judgment dated May 12 issued by Justice Amrita Sinha.
“The Impugned Order while failing to grant stay on the investigation conducted by the CBI and ED relating to the alleged ‘Municipality recruitment scam’, has also proceeded to ignore the law laid down by this Court in a catena of cases,” the plea stated.