The Central Bureau of Investigation has submitted a preliminary report on the March 14 police firing in Nandigram to the Calcutta High Court.
Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella organisation of 550 community Durga Pujas in Kolkata and neighbouring areas, also published guidelines to ensure that the festivities are held following COVID-safety protocols.
Hearing an appeal submitted by Forum for Durgotsab, a division bench of the high court comprising Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee, retained its earlier order declaring all Durga Puja marquees no-entry zones and erecting barricades in front of the pandals to prevent visitors from entering inside in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBI has "sought permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to prosecute Suvendu Adhikari, Saugata Roy, Prasun Banerjee and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar", who were all TMC MPs when the operation was allegedly conducted, the official explained.
The committee, which was formed by the National Human Rights Commission chairman on a direction by a five-judge bench of the high court, also said that these cases should be tried outside the state.
The collegium has recommended to the Centre to appoint justices N H Patil and D K Gupta as the chief justices of the Bombay and Calcutta high court.
Calcutta HC dismisses United Bank of India's decision on technical grounds
The high court had earlier ordered a CBI investigation into the killings of the nine people at Bogtui village.
After the Trinamool's overwhelming majority in the West Bengal assembly elections last year, the SSC scam has given fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Ishita Ayan Dutt reports.
The court's directions mean that Lodha immediately ceases to hold all positions in the M P Birla group, including as director in the firms and other positions in the trusts and societies of the M P Birla group, a statement from the Birlas read.
Pawar recorded his testimony before the commission in Mumbai in connection with the January 2018 violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune district of Maharashtra.
Eight people -- all women and children -- were beaten and burnt alive by a mob on Tuesday.
Banerjee, who is pitted against former lieutenant and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram seat, said that farmers are the pride of West Bengal and the state government is working tirelessly for their development.
The division bench said it deemed it appropriate to stay the special court's order and direct that the "accused person shall be treated to be in judicial custody till further orders".
The Supreme Court on Friday annulled the Calcutta high court's June 9 order refusing to take on record the reply-affidavits of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak on their role on the day of arrest of four Trinamool Congress leaders on May 17 by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Narada scam case.
An FIR lodged at the police station alleged that the actor had used dialogues like 'Marbo ekhane lash porbe shoshane' (Will hit you here and the body will land in the crematorium) and 'Ek chobole chobi' (A snakebite will turn you into a photograph, meaning will kill you) at a rally after joining the BJP on March 7. The complainant alleged that these dialogues caused post-poll violence in the state.
Mathews J Nedumpara, counsel for the former judge, said Justice Karnan has been in jail without a detailed judgment and moreover, one of the seven judges of the bench, which had convicted him, has already retired.
The orders will come into force from 7 pm on Thursday.
'I can only say that it was a revenge killing. We have seen everything from inside our houses. We ran into our dwellings on hearing a mob approaching Sonu's house and hurling bombs. After that, I don't know anything'
The Trinamool Congress on Monday wrote to Kolkata Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra seeking 'necessary action' under the law against the Central Bureau of Investigaton officials who arrested three senior party leaders 'illegally'.
Expressing concern over agitation by Trinamool Congress workers outside the Central Bureau of Investigation office in Kolkata and elsewhere in West Bengal after the arrest of two ministers and others in the Narada sting case, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday alleged that there is 'total lawlessness and anarchy' in the state and the police and administration are in 'silence' mode.
Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee were taken to the Central Bureau of Investigation office on Monday in connection with the Narada sting operation, officials said.
The plea had also sought to bar the BJP and its leaders from using the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan during the poll campaign in the state.
West Bengal police arrested Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rakesh Singh from Galsi in Purba Bardhaman district, about 130 km from Kolkata, on Tuesday night in connection with his alleged involvement in a drug seizure case, a senior officer said.
The apex court said it was duty-bound by the seven-judge bench's order in the case and 'cannot override it'.
A special CBI team had been searching for Kumar, who is now the additional director general of police in the criminal investigation department, across various locations in Kolkata.
Claiming Banerjee has been made aware that Justice Kausik Chanda, who is hearing her plea, was 'an active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party' and since the adjudication of the election petition will have political ramifications, it was prayed that the matter be assigned to another judge by the Acting Chief Justice, who is the master of roster.
The top court also directed the SEC not to declare those candidates who have won unopposed as winners.
The Madras high court on Monday came down hard on the Election Commission and called it the "the most irresponsible institution" for the alleged spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea from the BJP seeking a direction to the West Bengal government, state election panel and other functionaries to prepare a comprehensive action plan and deploy sufficient central police forces to ensure free and fair municipal polls in Kolkata.
The state government in its special leave petition alleged that it did not expect fair and just investigation by the central agency which is busy foisting cases against the functionaries of ruling Trinamool Congress Party.
Observing that the Bengal governments progress in matters related to post-poll violence did not inspire confidence, the Calcutta high court on Monday dismissed the dispensation's prayer for recall of an order that directed the NHRC chairperson to form a committee to examine cases of alleged human rights violations.
While the state government, contending that it had the power to notify panchayat elections under section 42 of the state Panchayat Act and as such notified the election in two phases on April 26 and April 30, the poll panel refused to budge.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted life to two death convicts in the 2002 American Center attack case in Kolkata with a rider that the mastermind will remain behind the bars till death and the other will spend at least 30 years in jail without remission.
'The dignity of the judiciary is going down.' 'There may be disputes and differences of opinion.' 'These are most confidential things. How can they come to the public domain?' Kalyan Banerjee, MP, asks the Lok Sabha.
The company is under liquidation.
The West Bengal government on Friday opposed a prayer for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the multi-crore chit fund scam, claiming in an affidavit to the Calcutta high court that at this stage, credibility of the investigation by the state police cannot be doubted.
The Supreme Court Monday rued the 'general practice' of speakers delaying decisions on pleas seeking disqualification of lawmakers and the subsequent arguments that courts should 'stay away,' while hoping that the West Bengal assembly speaker would decide on such a plea against Mukul Roy who defected to the Trinamool Congress from the Bharatiya Janata Party after the state polls.
The cycle of violence resulting from the increasing criminalisation of politics cannot stop, will not stop, unless there is a wider political consensus against relying on criminal mafias for electoral purposes, argues Virendra Kapoor.