Calcutta HC withdraws BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari’s protection from future FIRs

In a significant judicial turn in West Bengal’s political landscape, the Calcutta High Court on Friday, 24 October, withdrew the special protection earlier granted to leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, which had shielded him from the registration of future FIRs without prior court approval.

The decision, delivered by justice Jay Sengupta, marks the end of a nearly two-year legal shield that Adhikari — a key BJP figure and chief rival of chief minister Mamata Banerjee — had enjoyed since December 2022.

That protection, granted by then-Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, had effectively barred the state police from lodging any new FIRs against Adhikari without the court’s consent, citing concerns of political vendetta. It had come alongside an interim stay on 26 FIRs already filed against him.

Justice Sengupta, in his order on Friday, observed that the protection was always meant to be an interim arrangement, not a permanent exemption from due legal process. “Such a direction cannot continue indefinitely,” the judge remarked, while clarifying that Adhikari’s counsel may raise further objections or seek clarifications before 27 October.

At the same time, the bench dismissed 15 of the FIRs previously filed against Adhikari, citing procedural irregularities and lack of merit. The remaining cases, Justice Sengupta ruled, will now be investigated by a joint Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising members of both the West Bengal Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — an unusual hybrid mechanism aimed at ensuring impartiality.

Legal experts note that Adhikari, who has often accused the state government of political persecution, can still challenge the order before a higher bench or move the Supreme Court.

The ruling, they say, not only reshapes the contours of Adhikari’s ongoing legal battles but also injects a fresh charge into Bengal’s turbulent political rivalry — where courtroom victories and electoral stakes are often deeply intertwined.

With IANS inputs