'We Are Facing Allegations Of Encroaching Into Executive': Supreme Court On Advocate Jain's Plea Over West Bengal Violence

Supreme Court on Monday (21 April) responded to a plea by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain regarding the recent violent protests in West Bengal against the Waqf Amendment Act by mentioning several accusations of judicial overreach against it, NDTV reported.

Notably, in the last week, several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders criticised for its pivotal ruling that essentially established a timeline for the President and Governors to approve Bills passed by the legislature for the second time and the concerns raised regarding the recently passed Waqf Act.

Justice B R Gavai, the forthcoming Chief Justice, mentioned that the court is "facing allegations of encroaching into executive" in response to Jain's plea asking for a directive to the Centre pertaining to recent episodes of violence in West Bengal.

Jain argued for the continued presence of paramilitary forces on the ground to maintain peace. His pending plea, slated for hearing tomorrow, was lodged in the wake of post-poll violence in Bengal in 2022. In a new plea, he called for the Centre to dispatch paramilitary forces and establish a three-member panel of retired judges to probe the violence. Furthermore, he requested a report on the forced migration of Hindus resulting from the violent incidents in Murshidabad, located in north Bengal.

The statement from the senior judge, set to assume the role of Chief Justice in the following month, indicates that the Supreme Court has been attentively monitoring comments made by certain leaders of the ruling party against the judiciary.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Tamil Nadu case, where it declared the Governor's indefinite withholding of Bills as "arbitrary", a group of BJP leaders have voiced their criticism.

In response to the ruling, Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP, expressed that if the Supreme Court is to make all the decisions, there would be no need for Parliament or State Assembly. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also criticised the Supreme Court directing the President of India.