The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed West Bengal police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari allegedly for making provocative remarks during the recently concluded panchayat election. The development comes as a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who was granted protection by the High Court against any FIR against him by West Bengal police.
A Division Bench of Justice Indra Prasanna Mukherjee and Justice Biswarup Chowdhury while hearing public interest litigation (PIL) petition said that police would investigate the allegations of provocative comments against Mr. Adhikari and if the complaint was admissible, the police could file an FIR.
In December 2022, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court while staying about 17 FIRs against the Leader of Opposition had restrained the State from registering any fresh FIRs against Mr. Adhikari.
