Saradha Scam: Rajeev Kumar moves Supreme Court for extension of protection

Former Kolkata Police Commissioner, Rajeev Kumar, has moved the Supreme Court seeking extension of the seven-day protection from arrest granted to him by the Supreme Court in its order passed on May 17..The Court, in its order pronounced on May 17, had lifted the interim protection from arrest that was granted to Rajeev Kumar in February. The Court in its May 17 order had, however, given Kumar a period of seven days to take recourse to legal remedy and approach an appropriate forum to seek anticipatory bail..Kumar has now moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of the said time citing the ongoing lawyers’ strike in West Bengal. In his application, Kumar has prayed for the Court’s May 17 order to be modified to the effect that the seven-day period granted to him be deemed to commence from the day the lawyers’ strike is called off in the State. The application states,.“The 7 days period that this Hon’ble Court has graciously granted in the aforementioned order, be deemed to commence, only from the date the lawyer’s strike in the State of West Bengal is called off, in order to enable the Applicant herein to have an efficacious and effective recourse to the liberty that this Hon’ble Court has been kind enough to grant to the applicant herein (sic)”.The applicant has relied on a recent order of the Supreme Court by a Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph which had granted protection from arrest to an accused person on account of the ongoing strike in West Bengal. Additionally, Kumar has also stated that the Supreme Court has given protection to petitioners in various cases since April 25 when the lawyers’ strike in West Bengal began..“The present application is in recognition of the right of every citizen for legal representation before a Court of Law. That due to the strike and cease of work by Lawyers in Kolkata, the Applicant herein would suffer grave prejudice on account of no legal representation, rendering all legal remedies inefficacious.”.The application was mentioned today before the Vacation Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna. Since the May 17 order was passed by a three-judge Bench, the Court directed Kumar to approach the Registry for the listing of the matter before an appropriate Bench..The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought permission from the Court to carry out custodial interrogation of Kumar in relation to the Saradha Chit Fund Scam. CBI had alleged Kumar’s involvement in tampering of evidence in the case and thus wanted to probe him. When the matter reached the Supreme Court, the Court on February 5 had directed Kumar to make himself available to the CBI and co-operate with the probe. The Court had, however, ordered the CBI not to take any coercive steps against Kumar thereby granting him protection from arrest..Subsequently, the CBI had moved Supreme Court praying that the said protection be lifted which was allowed on May 17..Meanwhile, lawyers in West Bengal have been on a strike since April 25 after some police personnel “brutally tortured/assaulted” advocates, judicial officers, staff, and clerks of the Howrah Court..Kumar was represented in Supreme Court today by advocates Sunil Fernandes and Astha Sharma..[Read Application]