The Calcutta High Court on Thursday stayed a first information report against Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha candidate and former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay in a case related to the alleged assault of government teachers who were protesting the cancellation of their recruitment, Live Law reported.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, while extending interim relief to Gangopadhyay, took note of the Supreme Court’s recent order granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case till June 1. Ghosh observed that the top court had done so keeping in mind the Lok Sabha elections.
Gangopadhyay is the Hindutva party’s candidate from West Bengal’s Tamluk constituency.
In April, the Calcutta High Court had declared as null and void the 2016 State Level Selection Test for recruitment in state-run schools, terminating the appointment of over 24,000 teachers and non-teaching staff made on the basis of the test. The Supreme Court, however, stayed the High Court’s order on May 7.
On May 4, a few supporters of the Trinamool Congress, including teachers who had lost their jobs, called Gangopadhyay a “thief” at a rally he had attended before filing his nomination papers, The Indian Express reported.
BJP workers taking part in the rally shouted slogans in response. Subsequently, a scuffle broke out and some of the teachers alleged that they were beaten up by the BJP workers.
A day later, a first information report was filed against Gangopadhyay and BJP leader Prashanta Das in connection with the incident. They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 354 (molestation), among others.
Gangopadhyay had rejected the allegations and moved the High Court seeking to quash the first information report. His counsel said that while his name was among those accused in the report, no specific violations had been ascribed to him.
The advocate general for the state government, however, submitted that the petitioners had not denied the occurrence of the incident.
On Thursday, Ghosh took into account that Gangopadhyay was contesting the Lok Sabha polls. “I am of the opinion that so far as [Gangopadhyay] is concerned, the observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Arvind Kejriwal squarely applies,” he said.
The court then stayed all proceedings in connection with the first information report till June 14.
The Supreme Court, in its order granting bail to Kejriwal, had said that bail conditions restraining a political leader from partaking in political activities and rallies breach fundamental rights. It also noted that the Lok Sabha election “is the most significant and important event this year, as it should be in a national election year”.
Gangopadhyay had joined the BJP on March 7, two days after he resigned as a Calcutta High Court judge.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to former Punjab minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a money-laundering case, allowing for him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections on behalf of the Congress. The Supreme Court’s order allowing interim bail to Kejriwal was taken as a precedent.
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