[Post Poll Violence] Displaced people can submit complaints online; authorities should take action to enable their return: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that anyone in West Bengal who is not being allowed to go back to their houses due to post poll violence in the State shall be at liberty to lodge complaints with West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (WBLSA)..The complaints may be lodged via email, following which the competent authorities will have to take action based on the same..The order was passed by a five-judge Bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukherji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar in a plea concerning violence that rocked the State after the 2021 assembly elections were declared..“Anyone in the State who is not being allowed to go back to their houses due to post poll violence shall be at liberty to send their complaints to the email id provided in the additional affidavit of State. In addition, persons having aforesaid grievance shall be at liberty to send their complaints to email id of West Bengal Legal Services Authority,” the order said..On receipt of such grievance, the competent authority should take necessary steps for rehabilitation of such persons and report to this Court, the Bench ordered..During the previous hearing on May 31, the High Court had ordered the formation of a three-member committee to ensure that persons displaced by post-poll violence in West Bengal are able to return to their houses.Pursuant to that, the committee comprising nominees of the State Human Rights Commission, National Human Rights Commission and Member Secretary of the WBLSA was formed..The Court in its order passed on May 31 had allowed such displaced persons to communicate their grievances to WBLSA on its official email id. The three-member committee was to then to contact the concerned the police officer of the locality to ensure that persons are allowed to go back to their houses, the Court had directed.The Court also sought a report from the committee on the status of such complaints..The order was passed in a plea argued by Advocate Priyanka Tibrewal alleging that around 200 persons, who were displaced due to the violence, have not been able to return to their houses due to continuing threat to their lives..When the case was taken up for hearing on Friday, Tibrewal submitted that most of the affected persons, whose plight she had highlighted in her plea, appeared before the committee and were taken back to their houses.."Whatever I argued before this Court (on those people being threatened and prevented from going back to their houses) came out to be true before the committee," she added.She also claimed that she has received more emails from people who have fled their houses in other districts.“I had only raised issue regarding Entally (in Kolkata). The situation is same across West Bengal. There are more such people,” she said..She, therefore, sought 10 days' time to bring on record the situation of more such people from other parts of West Bengal.Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the State of West Bengal, requested that the report of the committee be circulated to the State so that it could assist the court.Dutta also said it was possible that these people had not approached the police..After hearing the parties, the Court directed that all displaced persons would be at liberty to contact the WBLSA for rehabilitation to their respective houses.“Ms. Tibrewal pointed out that many people can't read and write and won't be able to send their complaints to police or State Legal Service Authority. Liberty is granted to counsel to send composite complaints on the designated email id on behalf of such persons,” the Court ordered.