SC asks Calcutta HC to examine if invoking UAPA in Beldanga violence probe was justifiable

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Calcutta High Court to examine whether invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was justifiable in an investigation into the violence in Murshidabad’s Beldanga area following the death of a migrant worker in January, Hindustan Times reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi was hearing the West Bengal government’s challenge to a January 20 order by the High Court that asked the National Investigation Agency to consider whether it should invoke its suo moto powers to probe the violence.

Violence was reported in Beldanga after the death of 36-year-old Alauddin Sheikh, a migrant worker in Jharkhand.

Sheikh’s family members had alleged that he was beaten to death and later hanged to make it appear as a suicide. Protests erupted after his body was brought back to the village. Those protesting claimed that migrant workers from Murshidabad face repeated attacks and unsafe conditions in other states because they are Bengali speakers.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court told the National Investigation Agency that it had invoked section 15 of the anti-terror Act “without looking into documents”.

“The case diary was not placed before you...this is a pre-decisional conclusion arrived at,” said the bench. “Every emotional outburst cannot be packaged as a threat to economic security!”

However, it...

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