VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Oct 13: The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to three Congress MLAs in a cash seizure case and restrained proceedings and investigation by the Bengal police against them.
The next hearing of this case is set to take place on December 1. The order was passed by the court of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi over a petition filed by MLAs Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kacchap, and Naman Bixel Kongari.
Bengal police arrested them on July 30 along with cash to the tune of Rs 50 Lakh. On the next day, another Congress MLA Jai Mangal Singh alias Anoop Singh lodged a zero FIR. He alleged that these MLAs were part of a larger conspiracy to topple the Hemant Soren-led JMM-Congress-RJD government on the instruction of the BJP. He named BJP’s Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma among the persons who are trying to bribe MLAs to topple the government.
“Our petition has been accepted and the court commented the case involves an interesting question of law. Notice has been issued to the union of India besides the government of Bengal and Jharkhand. The court has passed an interim order. We had requested the quashing of the zero FIR as it is illegal,” said Vikas Pahwa who appeared for petitioner MLAs. The notice has been served to Congress MLA Jai Mangal Singh alias Anoop Singh.
Vikas Pahwa said that a zero FIR was lodged in Ranchi a day after the seizure and Ranchi police without any delay forwarded that zero FIR to Bengal police.
“The cash seizure had no connection with the zero FIR. If a conspiracy to topple the government was hatched and executed in Ranchi then why Ranchi police took a zero FIR and sent it to Bengal police? Ranchi police should have lodged a regular FIR here only and started the investigation. The court appreciated our point and passed the order,” said Vikash Pahwa.
Additional solicitor general Sachin Kumar claimed that petitioners are doing forum hunting and their matter was heard by Calcutta High Court and granted them conditional bail.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi on this said that the bail granted by Calcutta High Court would remain effective.
