The hearing by the Apex Court on the complaint of West Bengal is scheduled to be held on May 2nd amid the national uproar against the CBI. The plaint asserted that the CBI had initiated the investigations without the respective state’s permission. “Article 131” of the Constitution has been treated as the proviso for the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction that has been addressed in the disputes arising between the Union and one or more states.
In 2018, the Government of West Bengal revoked its “general order” of being under the control of the CBI to conduct probes or raids within the state. But the matter did not end there because, as CBI allegedly, the investigation continued for the discharge though.
The evening prior, on a bench which Justice Gavai was presiding over, an appeal by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the centre required the delay until 2 pm as he was immersed in an event before a nine-judge bench of the Constitution. In this case, the seven-member bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, was pondering the possibility of private properties becoming “material endowments of the community” and potentially subject to state takeover for the “public good”.
Despite suggestions for alternative arrangements, Mehta explained the unavailability of the Constitution bench until 2 pm, prompting the Justices to reschedule the hearing for the afternoon.
Subsequently, Mehta informed the judge that the constitutional bench was still sitting. The Justices advised to allow it to take place the following morning and that such presence may be needed in another place. Therefore, the court considered May 20 as the starting date of summer vacation and set the hearing on Thursdays so as to grasp the argument timely.
This situation highlights the ongoing legal dispute between the central government and the Government of West Bengal, who are at loggerheads with each other, with the centre trying to invoke the CBI’s rights within the state and the apex court attempting to find an amicable way forward.
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