Calcutta HC rejects exemption petition from criminal cases filed by former Trinamool legislator Saokat Molla

Kolkata, July 8 (IANS) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has rejected the “exemption petition” from former Trinamool Congress legislator Saokat Molla seeking exemption from the criminal cases registered against him by both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the West Bengal Police on various charges like involvement in bomb blast, corruption, extortion and sexual offences.

Incidentally, on June 5 this year, the NIA arrested Molla in connection with the bomb blast at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, officials said on Tuesday.

Later on June 19, the Jibantala Police Station took him into their custody in a rape case filed against him seven years ago.

Another rape case was filed against Molla.

In the last case, there were allegations of kidnapping the child and torturing the mother day after day.

A case was filed in the court in the 2019 incident.

Meanwhile, last month, the police made him walk through Jibantala Bazaar to reconstruct the crime spot in the blast case.

Molla approached the Calcutta High Court accusing the police of resorting to his human rights violation and seeking exemption from the cases registered against him.

The matter came up for hearing at the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya on Tuesday.

After a detailed hearing in the matter, Justice Bhattacharya refused to entertain the exemption petition and said that considering the seriousness of allegations against the former Trinamool Congress leader, it was not possible for his bench to entertain the exemption petition.

Justice Bhattacharya also said that Molla had the option to approach any other court with a similar exemption petition.

However, Justice Bhattacharya also added that the recent trend of the police taking the accused persons to a public place and making them walk there should be stopped immediately.

According to Justice Bhattacharya, the trial process should be conducted as per the existing legal provisions and on humanitarian grounds the accused persons should not be made to walk publicly by the policemen.

–IANS

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