Kolkata: Even if one affidavit was found to be accurate, it would be a matter of shame, Calcutta high court remarked, expressing deep concern over the contents of affidavits presented before it during a hearing on a PIL seeking an independent investigation into the Sandeshkhali sexual harassment allegations.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya said district authorities and Trinamool Congress must take responsibility for the situation. It warned that Bengal’s claim of being the “safest state for women” would lose credibility if the allegations in the affidavits were proven true.
HC reserved its judgment after hearing extensive arguments on petitions urging a court-monitored investigation by an independent commission into allegations of torture, sexual abuse of women in Sandeshkhali, and land-grabbing by Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.
Advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, also a BJP functionary, presented 600 affidavits from Sandeshkhali women, detailing instances of land-grabbing and torture, with one affidavit alleging gang rape.
The high court directed advocate general Kishore Datta to submit all 43 FIRs and chargesheets related to Shahjahan and his aides filed until Jan 5, the day ED officials came under attack while trying to conduct a search at Shahjahan’s home in Sandeshkhali.
Datta also raised concerns about the influx of PILs, questioning their motives and labelling them as “political interest litigations” or “personal interest litigations”. He urged HC to examine the timing and nature of these PILs, emphasising that they often emerged immediately after unfortunate events and vanished once the issue lost prominence.
