Calcutta High Court Allows ED To File Contempt Petition Against West Bengal Police Over Shahjahan Sheikh’s Custody

The Calcutta High Court granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a contempt petition against the West Bengal government. This decision came after the state police failed to comply with an order directing them to hand over custody of suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Deputy Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi, representing the ED, requested permission to file the contempt petition and urged for an urgent hearing. Trivedi emphasized the significance of timely action, stating that the delay was causing the ED to lose valuable time in securing Sheikh's custody for the CBI.

The high court had on Tuesday directed the transfer of investigation to the CBI into a mob attack on ED officials when they went to search the premises of Sheikh in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5 in connection with a ration scam probe.

A division bench comprising justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya has granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file the petition. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has urgently requested the Supreme Court to list its plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's order to transfer the investigation into the attack on ED officials to the CBI.

The order to transfer the investigation to the CBI was issued by a division bench led by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam on Tuesday. The high court directed that Shahjahan Sheikh's custody be handed over to CBI officials by 4.30 pm the same day. However, CBI officials reportedly waited for over two hours at the CID headquarters in Bhavani Bhawan for Sheikh's custody. They returned empty-handed after being informed that the West Bengal government had moved the Supreme Court on the matter the previous evening.

Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in connection with the attack on ED officials, following which the state government handed over the case to the CID.