SC refuses urgent listing of Rajeev's plea for further protection from arrest

New Delhi: In a setback to former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to accord urgent listing of his plea for extension of the 7-day protection from arrest granted to him in the Saradha chit fund scam case.

Kumar has rushed to the top court seeking indefinite extension of shield from arrest on the ground that work in trial courts in Kolkata and the Calcutta High Court has been paralysed due to the ongoing strike by lawyers. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had on May 17 withdrawn the protection from arrest granted earlier to Kumar and said that it would continue for seven days to enable him to approach the competent court for relief. The protection ends on May 23.

Kumar's counsel approached the vacation bench of the apex court on Monday seeking urgent listing of his plea for extending the protection in view of lawyers' strike in Kolkata. However, his counsel was told that since the May 17 order was passed by a three-judge bench, he can approach the apex court registry or the secretary general for listing of the matter before an appropriate bench. The counsel then approached the registrar (judicial) of the apex court for urgent listing of the plea.

"The matter was placed before the Chief Justice of India today morning and counsel for West Bengal was informed that the request for urgent listing was rejected by the CJI," said one of the lawyers who is appearing in the case.

Kumar's lawyer had Monday told the vacation bench that the top court had granted seven days time to Kumar to approach the competent court for legal remedies but four days have already elapsed and they needed time to approach the competent court there.