360° View | A Classic Cover-Up? Why TMC Shifting Onus of Shahjahan Sheikh Arrest on Court is a Dangerous Trend

Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh. (File photo)

Over the past few days, West Bengal saw a classic example of how a court order can be — or might be— interpreted as per the political convenience of the ruling party. For context, it is about a ‘stay order’ by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the attack on ED officers on duty in Sandeshkhali on January 5 allegedly by Sheikh Shajahan and his accomplices.

In the order dated February 7, the division bench put a stay on the formation of an SIT comprising West Bengal police officers and the related investigation following a writ petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate. However, the order was only about an FIR filed by the agency after the attack on its officers and the related probe.

According to court documents and orders regarding Sheikh Shajahan and Sandeshkhali, there were 43 cases filed against the former since 2018 or so and he was charge-sheeted in 42 cases. Neither was he arrested, nor penalised by his party. What were all these cases? And what was the outcome of the investigation? These questions were never formally answered by the police.

Meanwhile, as several allegations of sexual assault, land grab and other illegal activities started pouring in against Shahjahan, the West Bengal police took its time to lodge a formal FIR against him. The senior police officers too were seen evading questions related to his arrest.

Dual process of comparing wrongs

The senior leaders of the ruling Trinamool showcased their past actions of arresting their important leaders earlier and penalising them or expelling them following allegations and cases. Some others tried to justify the act by drawing comparisons and bringing up other ‘wrongs’ by parties such as BJP and CPM, accusing them of shielding strongmen who were accused of crimes against women.

A case in point was the protest by women wrestlers accusing Brij Bhushan Singh, a senior leader and MP of BJP. This has always been a trend in Indian politics where politicians, if in trouble, try to justify one wrong by equating it with another, giving rise to more impunity.

A section of Trinamool leaders, including chief minister Mamata Banerjee, called the Sandeshkhali protests “politically motivated” and termed the women victims “outsiders or masked BJP cadres”. Simultaneously, the state administration started camps in the island to register complaints following instances of violence, clashes and arson. However, there was radio silence on Sheikh Shahjahan.

Classic cover-up: Onus on the court

And then, the heir apparent of Trinamool Congress finally spoke. On February 25, TMC’s national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, while addressing a programme, said Shahjahan was “shielded by the judiciary” as he mentioned that the Calcutta HC had stayed relevant investigation and thus tied the hands of the police and administration.

Hours after Banerjee’s statements, a division bench of Calcutta High Court led by chief justice TS Sivagnanam said the court had not stayed Shahjahan’s arrest.

“We will clarify that there is no stay on arrest. A stay on investigation doesn’t mean stay on arrest. There is an FIR registered, he is branded as an accused. He will have to be arrested,” the court added. The CJ further explained: “We have stayed only the constitution of SIT. There is no order restraining the apprehending of Shahjahan. How can there be an order of court saying not to arrest for almost 20 days?”

The court also decided to ‘implead’ Shahjahan and declare him ‘absconding’ through due process.

Following the court order, Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool’s state general secretary, said Shajahan would be arrested in “seven days”. Abhishek Banerjee posted on X (formerly Twitter): “With yesterday’s clarifications from Calcutta HC, I’m confident justice will soon prevail.”

News18 spoke to several senior counsels and lawyers to break down the developments, starting from the “politically convenient” interpretation of the order to how things have unfolded since then. According to the senior counsels, the court order never ‘tied’ the hands of the police and administration, as claimed by Abhishek Banerjee. The police have powers to initiate a suo moto FIR in case of rioting, clash, violence and other illegal activities. Police can also lodge FIRs while someone is trying to register a complaint and act on it. None of these steps were taken over the past 50 days.

The political shake-up, the statements and the time frame of seven days began only after the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled public meeting in Basirhat, the Lok Sabha constituency under which Sandeshkhali assembly segment falls. Many can interpret the chronology of the incidents and events as a prequel to the general elections.