SC declines Suvendu Adhikari's plea to transfer election petition

The bench said if it were to transfer the petition, it would indicate that the top court is not having faith in the Calcutta HC

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider a plea by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari for transferring the election petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the Calcutta High Court.

"We will not allow this choice of high courts. The high court which has jurisdiction, should try the matter there," a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said.

The bench also said if it were to transfer the petition, it would indicate that the top court is not having faith in the Calcutta High Court.

"If we transfer, we would be expressing a view of lack of faith in the entire high court," the bench further said.

In the 2021 assembly election, Adhikari had defeated Mamata Banerjee by 1,956 votes. In June 2021, Banerjee moved an election petition before the high court seeking a direction to Adhikari’s election from Nandigram be declared null and illegal. Adhikari sought transfer of the petition to some other High Court outside the Calcutta High Court.

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Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Adhikari, submitted that the atmosphere over there was not congenial for the hearing of the election petition.

He said that the CM wrote a letter stating that because she had opposed a particular judge’s appointment, then he should recuse from hearing a connected matter.

The top court was informed that judges who had given relief to Adhikari in other matters had incurred the wrath of the state administration.

However, the bench said that the high court should have control over their litigation.

The court was also told that a case was filed against a judge who passed orders against the state government.

The bench, however, said the Chief Justice and the high court judges have enough powers to ensure that congenial atmosphere is maintained during the trial in the election petition. "Their shoulders are broad enough to deal with it,” the bench said.

The bench said this could not form the basis for it to transfer the case.

The court also pointed out that elections of former PMs have been challenged and the Allahabad High Court heard it.

The bench said that Salve’s client and other witnesses in the trial can approach the concerned judge in connection with the security.

Following the detailed hearing, the bench allowed Adhikari to withdraw the transfer petition and granted him liberty to approach the concerned judge of the Calcutta High Court presiding over the trial of the election petition.