A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has provided interim protection to Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, from any coercive police measures in an FIR filed against him at Khardah Police Station. The shield granted by Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee will be in effect for 12 weeks until July, during which the police are restricted from taking any action, including arrest, against Adhikari.
Adhikari, who is contesting from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur constituencies, faced a suo motu FIR by Khardah Police Station on December 29, 2020, for alleged objectionable remarks. Seeking dismissal of the complaint before the elections, Adhikari approached the Calcutta High Court for relief.
In a separate matter, the High Court also provided relief to Adhikari’s younger brother, Dibyendu Adhikari, a former Lok Sabha member and BJP candidate from Egra Assembly constituency. Dibyendu had raised concerns over not receiving a “no dues” certificate despite vacating a government flat. The court was informed that the certificate had been issued on March 19, but it would take a few more days to reach Dibyendu.
