The Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench, comprising Justice Arijit Bandopadhyay and Justice Apurba Sinha Roy, stepped back from overseeing the case involving the applicability of UAPA Sections in the Beldanga violence incident in Murshidabad. The responsibility has now been passed on to the Chief Justice, Sujay Paul.
Justice Bandopadhyay and Justice Roy stated that the decision on the UAPA Sections’ applicability should be made by a Bench led by the Chief Justice. Despite this, they addressed the National Investigation Agency’s challenge against a lower court’s bail grant to 15 out of 35 accused individuals.
The NIA, in its plea, contended that the lower court’s bail decision was inappropriate as the agency was investigating under the Supreme Court’s directive. The Division Bench hinted that if the NIA could furnish substantial evidence against the bail of the 15 accused, their bail would likely be revoked.
A special NIA court recently granted conditional bail to 15 of the 35 accused linked to the Beldanga violence triggered by a migrant worker’s death in Jharkhand. The unrest began when the deceased worker’s body arrived in Beldanga, with protesters alleging religious and linguistic motives behind the worker’s death in Jharkhand.
When authorities attempted to clear the blockades, protesters clashed with security forces, leading to injuries among journalists. Subsequently, the Jharkhand Police declared the worker’s demise a suicide based on the post-mortem report.
