Kolkata: Observing that there is a need to maintain decency in the pleadings and avoid offensive statements, the Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed two petitions praying for a court-monitored probe into Murshidabad violence.
The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh was hearing two petitions by two advocates. The court, in regard to one of the petitions, warned the petitioner against averments made in the petition.
“We should always maintain the integrity and decorum of the institution...Think about what averments are to be made, and what are required to be struck off. Don’t seek publicity. Think with a cool mind…We respect every citizen who wants to come to us, they are welcome. But with a sense of responsibility. Be careful about what averments are made,” Justice Kant reportedly told the petitioner. When asked why he didn’t invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226, the petitioner is learnt to have replied that several persons from West Bengal, who moved out of the State due to violence, had contacted him. The court then asked why the petition was bereft of details of such a person.
The court also chided the petitioner for submitting a petition based on media reports. “Where is the verification done by you?” Justice Kant asked. The court took objection to certain words and phrases used in the petition. “Are you supposed to use such expressions in pleadings? There cannot be averments which are on the face of it offending,” Justice Kant questioned.
When pointed out that the allegations were against persons who were not made parties to the case, the petitioner said that the allegations were against government functionaries. The court asked how can an order be passed without hearing them? The court dismissed the petition as withdrawn, granting liberty to file a fresh petition with “better and appropriate particulars.”
The court allowed withdrawal of another petition more or less on the same grounds. Recently, the Calcutta High Court rejected the NIA-probe prayer by BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, into Murshidabad violence, in view of the fact that no adequate materials were placed
before the court.