Calcutta HC rejects BJP plea to hold protest over ED’s I-PAC raids outside Nabanna

Kolkata, Jan 15 (LatestNewsX) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday rejected the plea by the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking permission to hold a protest demonstration in front of the state secretariat Nabanna at Mandirtala in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district, over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s alleged move to hinder the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) simultaneous raids on the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).

While turning down the plea, Justice Ghosh accepted the state government’s argument that since Nabanna is a high-security zone, protest demonstrations on any issue cannot be allowed right in front of it.

Instead, Justice Ghosh suggested the nearby Mandirtala Crossing as an alternative venue for the protest demonstration.

It is learnt that the West Bengal unit of the BJP has decided to approach a division bench of the Calcutta High Court against the single-judge order.

On January 13, the state unit of the BJP approached the Calcutta High Court seeking permission to organise a protest demonstration in front of Nabanna. The matter came up for hearing on Thursday and, at the end of the hearing, the BJP’s plea was turned down.

On January 8, while simultaneous raids and search operations were being conducted at the I-PAC office and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain, the Chief Minister, accompanied by senior officials from the state administration and the state Police Department, visited the two places one after another and left the premises after reportedly collecting certain paper files and electronic documents.

The West Bengal unit of the BJP had decided to conduct a protest demonstration in front of the state secretariat at Nabanna at Mandirtala in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district. However, considering that Nabanna is a high-security zone, special permission is required for conducting protest demonstrations in front of it.

Therefore, the state unit of the BJP approached the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench directly, seeking permission for the same.

src/pgh