On May 3, 2021, a day after the results of the Assembly elections were declared, the Indic Collective Trust (ICT) had moved the Supreme Court through advocate Suvidutt Sundaram over the post-poll violence that has erupted in West Bengal. The ICT had sought directions for the deployment of central forces to restore law and order in the state. Four days on, the Supreme Court is yet to hear the petition.
Today, Indic Collective Trust, through a thread of Tweets rued that its repeated efforts to get it’s petition listed for urgent hearing failed, as the apex court is yet to hear their petition which was filed on May 3.
1. Our Petition seeking the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s intervention in the #BengalViolence was filed in the afternoon of May 3, 2021. By the afternoon of May 4, 2021, all queries raised by the SC Registry were addressed and cleared.
— Indic Collective (@indiccollective) May 7, 2021
ICT informed that though by the afternoon of May 4, 2021, they had addressed and cleared all queries raised by the SC Registry, yet the matter was not listed on May 5th.
It furthered that it requested the apex court to list the matter urgently citing the grim situation in Bengal. Accordingly, ICT’s arguing Counsels Senior Advocate Ms Pinky Anand and Mr J Sai Deepak along with the Advocate on Record Mr Suvidutt Sundaram sought to orally mention the matter before Justice UU Lalit on May 6, 2021. “However, the said request too was not allowed by SC Registry despite being informed of the grave urgency in the matter”, wrote the Indic Collective Trust.
ICT shot the second letter of urgency on May 6th, which was also turned down by the Registry.
Saying so, ICT asserted that since today is the last working day of the Supreme Court before it shuts for summer until June 28, 2021, they would seek its urgent listing once more before a vacation bench, adding that it was also working on alternatives as they have ample proof of the ghastly targeted post-poll violence in West Bengal.
Indic collective moves SC citing deliberate inaction by Mamata Banerjee
We reported that ICT through its petition had sought directions for the constitution of a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to investigate the involvement of politicians in the current spate of post-poll violence that is underway. It also seeks directions for the immediate prosecution and arrest of those responsible for the spate of violence.
It had also requested the Supreme Court to declare that the constitutional machinery in the state has broken down within the meaning of Article 356. President’s Rule is imposed on a state through Article 356 if the President is satisfied that the governance of the state cannot be carried according to the provisions of the Constitution.
