‘Stall registration of FIR till Nov 6 in custodial torture case’

Kolkata: A vacation bench of Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to stall the registration of an FIR till November 6 pertaining to allegations of custodial torture against the police in a case where two petitioners were arrested during RG Kar protest rallies for “clapping” when “unwarranted remarks” were made by the principal accused against the minor child of a “powerful political figure”.

The Division Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh and Justice Uday Kumar heard the Advocate General (AG) Kishore Datta who submitted that both the writ petitioners were produced before the court at least on four/five occasions and were represented by an advocate. However, there were no allegations of custodial violations raised by them.

The AG also submitted that nobody present before the Single Bench had prayed that the case be transferred or entrusted with the CBI. The petitioners were not present in the court on Monday. The court took into account the submissions of the AG and also observed that it is difficult to pass orders in the absence of the writ petitioners.

With the DSP of CBI, Ashutosh Kumar, who was present in court, informing that till Monday no case was registered by the CBI, the court directed the CBI to stall the registration of the FIR till November 6. The appeal was listed before a regular bench on November 4, 2024.

On October 8, the Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed a CBI probe into the alleged physical torture, reasoning that the decision is based on the need for an impartial and independent inquiry.

The Single Bench was moved by two women petitioners who were arrested based on a Falta Police Station case on two separate dates and were charged under several sections of BNS, and provisions under POCSO and IT Act. Both complained of physical abuse by the police during their detention and submitted that such actions are a gross violation of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in DK Basu v. State of West Bengal concerning custodial violence and rights

of detainees.