High Court allows ex-IPS officer to appear virtually before police

Kolkata: As an interim measure, the vacation bench of Calcutta High Court on Monday allowed retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Datta to appear before the police through virtual medium while asking the police to give him a 48 hours intimation.

The Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh and Justice Uday Kumar was moved by Datta against a Single Bench order of October 3. Senior advocate Bikashranjan Bhattacharya alleged that the veteran officer was made to wait for eight hours at the police station the last time.

The state, represented by Advocate General Kishore Datta, refuted it while submitting that the charges slapped against him were bailable. Bhattacharya questioned why the petitioner was then served notice under Section 41 A CrPC.

The court directed the appellant’s counsel to hand over the e-mail address of his client to the additional government pleader who was asked to further communicate it to the investigating officer of the case.

The court directed that the police need to give Datta a 48-hour time window to appear before them in case he is required for further investigation or enquiry. “The appellant will make himself available in virtual mode. Physical appearance may not be insisted upon till November 7, 2024 when the appeal will appear before the regular bench,” the court said.

In the last hearing, the Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj refused to pass any interim order quashing the Burtolla Police Station case against Datta. The case was lodged against him for his reference to ‘Sonagacchi’ while speaking at the Derozio Auditorium of Presidency University on the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.