New Delhi: CBI on Tuesday submitted in the
Supreme Court its report on the investigation into Nandigram
police firing by West Bengal police in which 14 persons were
killed on March 14, 2007, during a protest acquisition of
their land for industrial project.
A bench of justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik,
while taking on record the report, however, rejected the plea
of counsel and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Bandopadhyay for
adjournment of the case till assembly elections were over in
the state.
"This case has nothing to do with the elections or the
fight between CPI-M and Trinamul,"the bench said while posting
the matter for further hearing till March 31.
Bandhopadhyay sought adjournment of the case on the
ground that elections would take place in the state between
April and May.
Senior counse KK Venugopal, appearing for the state
government, alleged the entire case had been put up by the
Trinamool Congress to settle political scores..
The bench had last month asked CBI to place its
investigation report into the 2007 firing incident before the
apex court to decide on the question of initiating criminal
proceedings against the erring police officials in the case.
The Bench had on December 13, 2007, restrained CBI
from initiating further proceedings in the case on the ground
that a Constitution Bench was examining whether the apex court
and High Courts have the jurisdiction to order CBI probe
or not.
But it had later agreed to hear the plea of CBI for
vacation of stay after the Constitution bench held that the
court can direct a CBI probe in a case.
The court also directed the agency to give a copy of
its report to the state government.
The High Court had directed the West Bengal government
to pay a uniform compensation of Rs 5 lakh to families of each
of the 14 persons killed and Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh to those
raped and injured.
Following the firing on March 14, 2007, the Calcutta
High Court had asked CBI to inquire as to what prompted the
police to open fire when thousands of villagers had gathered
to protest attempts by the police to enter Nandigram.
The report was filed by the agency before the High
Court on February 15, 2008.
The state government had challenged the High Court order
indicting it for "unjustified" firing on innocent people in
Nandigram.
While staying the High Court order, the apex court had
also issued notices to rights group Association for Protection
for Democratic Rights and other parties on whose plea it had
passed the order.
The state government submitted that the High Court had
taken an erroneous decision by allowing proceedings against
the cops.
PTI
