The Supreme Court on July 24 refused to interfere with a Calcutta High Court order upholding the Centre’s decision to assign Ram Navami violence cases in West Bengal to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said the six FIRs, registered across four police stations between March 30 and April 3 this year, would be investigated by the NIA. The Bench made it clear that the contours of the NIA probe would neither be restricted nor ascertained by the courts.
The apex court reasoned that the Centre has suo motu powers under Section 6(5) of the NIA Act to gauge whether a case needs to be investigated by the NIA. It is this power that the Union government had exercised while tasking the NIA with the Ram Navami violence cases.
Besides, the court said the West Bengal government had not separately challenged the notification issued by the Centre on May 10, giving the cases to the NIA.
‘Bid to demoralise police’
The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the West Bengal government against the NIA takeover of the investigation into the six FIRs. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan argued that the move was meant to demoralise the State police.
The court said that in case of such violence, the police officer concerned has to send a report to the State authorities which forwards it to the Centre.
The Centre, in turn, determines if the information provided amounted to the commission of a scheduled offence under the NIA Act. “But the Centre has the power to go beyond this report of the State. The Centre can take an independent view. The Centre has suo motu powers. The State in such cases have to cooperate,” the Bench observed orally.
One of the prima facie reasons the High Court had supported an NIA probe into the six FIRs in its April 27 order was its belief that the State police had attempted to avoid offences under the Explosives Substances Act in the FIRs.
