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New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose ongoing tussles with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been the talk of the town, has once again grabbed headlines by making a significant 'request' to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
CM Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of a building of the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Saturday. Chief Justice Surya Kant and other judges were present on the dais, and she 'requested' them to "please protect the Constitution, democracy, judiciary, history, geography, and boundary of the country from disaster."
She added, "Please see, there are so many agencies that are defaming, deliberate attempts are being made to defame. Please protect the people. I am not saying this for me. I am saying save the people, save the judiciary, the Constitution, and the country."
Turning to the CJI, she said, "You are the guardian of our Constitution; we are under your legal guardianship. Please protect the people. These days, there is a trend of media trials before disposal of cases; this must stop, too."
Recently, the ED approached the apex court for an urgent hearing in the alleged I-PAC coal scam case. The central probe agency filed a petition, contending that CM Banerjee and her government obstructed its investigation into the matter while it raided the I-PAC office and its chief Pratik Jain's house.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, reiterated the central agency's accusation that CM Banerjee 'took evidence from the residence of IPAC co-founder Pratik Jain' and said, "This kind of act will encourage state police officers to aid and abet such cases."
The SC stated that the chaos at the Calcutta High Court during the hearing related to the ongoing face-off between the two parties had "very much disturbed" it, and the court noted the matter to be a "serious issue". Also, it issued a notice to the Bengal government and sought its response within two weeks. It has also restrained the Bengal Police from acting on the FIR filed against ED and its officials.
