A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court asserted on Wednesday that any investigative agency, be it under the state or Union government, has the authority to apprehend Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, who is wanted in connection with the January 5 attack on ED and CAPF sleuths in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas District.
The court made this clarification during a hearing concerning Shahjahan's arrest, presided over by the Division Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya.
Chief Justice Sivagnanam emphasized that while there is an injunction on the formation of a joint investigation team comprising the West Bengal Police and the CBI to probe the attack, there are no restrictions on Shahjahan's arrest.
Without explicitly naming individuals, the Chief Justice also addressed recent public statements made by some Trinamool Congress representatives and ministers, suggesting that the state police were unable to arrest Shahjahan due to a court injunction.
"Some claim that the court is shielding the accused. The state police cannot evade responsibility, as despite numerous FIRs filed against him over the past few years, an arrest has not been made," observed the Chief Justice.
During the proceedings, the counsel representing the ED, Dhiraj Trivedi, argued that if the state police were to arrest Shahjahan, it could complicate matters for the ED to obtain his custody later on. Consequently, Trivedi advocated for an independent CBI inquiry into the case.
Responding to this, the Chief Justice reiterated that both state police and central agencies have the authority to apprehend Shahjahan.
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