HC to Suvendu: What do you have to fear inside assembly?
Times of India | 12 June 2025
12 Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari what he had to fear inside the assembly. The court posed the question to Adhikari's counsel while hearing a petition filed by the BJP neta seeking entry of central forces in assembly.After the 2021 assembly election, speaker Biman Banerjee had turned down BJP's plea to allow central forces in assembly. However, as Adhikari got up to take his oath, a heated exchange took place between his security guards and members of the media. Following this, a makeshift arrangement was made to post central force personnel in the House.In 2024, however, Banerjee passed an order barring central forces from entering the House premises. Challenging this, Adhikari moved the HC.On Wednesday, while Justice Amrita Sinha was hearing the matter, Adhikari's counsel emphasised that there was a threat to him, and that is why he had sought protection from the court. "The legal point is whether the speaker, by notification, can restrict the entry of central forces," his counsel submitted. In March, Adhikari had written to the assembly secretary, apprehending an attack on him and other BJP netas.Justice Sinha remarked, "The situation is probably not that bad." She also said, "How are outsiders going inside assembly premises and threatening members?" She refused to grant any interim relief to Adhikari based solely on the application. The matter is scheduled for hearing on June 19.Justice Shampa Sarkar, who was earlier hearing the case, had in an order on Aug 13, 2024, sought an affidavit from the state. Since then, the matter has not been heard.Reiterating the case details, Adhikari's counsel submitted on Wednesday that while cops covering security of MLAs were allowed inside the premises, the same privilege was not extended to the central forces, which cover the security for the LOP. Justice Sarkar had opined that irrespective of the authority and jurisdiction of the speaker, the same treatment should be given to each and every MLA concerning their bodyguards.Meanwhile, senior standing counsel Sirsanya Bandopadhyay said that no harm had befallen anyone so far and one had to assume that people in charge were also conscious of the situation.