Saradha Scam: Rajeev Kumar files fresh petition for extension of protection from arrestbefore Supreme Court

Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar has moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the Saradha Chit Fund Scam..In the petition filed through advocates Sunil Fernandes and Astha Sharma, Kumar has prayed for extension of the interim protection till the courts in West Bengal start functioning and the lawyers’ strike is called off..The Vacation Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and MR Shah today stated that all mentioning would take place tomorrow. In effect, Kumar’s petition will be heard on Friday..Rajeev Kumar filed the fresh petition in light of the fact that the seven-day protection period granted to him by the Supreme Court for exercising his legal options lapses on Friday..On May 17, the Court had lifted the interim protection given to Rajeev Kumar on February 5, and gave him a period of seven days to take recourse to legal remedy. This, after the CBI had sought permission to conduct Kumar’s custodial interrogation in relation to the Saradha Chit Fund Scam..The lawyers in the State of West Bengal, however, have been on a strike since April 25, on account of the Howrah Court violence. This had prompted Kumar to approach the Supreme Court seeking an extension of the interim protection..The Vacation Bench had then directed Kumar to approach the Registry for listing of his plea before an appropriate Bench, since the May 17 order was passed by a three-Judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. The plea for urgent hearing of this matter was, however, turned down..Kumar has thus come to the Supreme Court again for relief, given that he is unable to move the courts in West Bengal owing to the strike..Over the past week, accused persons or petitioners from West Bengal have been constrained to approach the Supreme Court directly due to the strikes in local courts..Just yesterday, the Supreme Court had granted protection from arrest to BJP candidate from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, enabling him to be present during the counting of votes..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.