Birbhum Explosions: Calcutta HC orders transfer of probe in Birbhum Explosions to NIA

A departmental bench, consisting of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Bivas Pattanayak, cleared a previous stay of a single bench of the HC in the NIA probe and issued an interim order directing the CID to cooperate with the NIA and all documents related to its investigation into broadcast the explosion of 2019 in two apartment buildings in Birbhum if necessary.

“Investigations by the central agency, whose powers are much greater than those of the state agency, would be more effective and would serve the justice system,” the chamber noted in its April 18 order.

Noting that the central authority has precedence in investigating planned crimes, as stipulated in Section 6 of the NIA Act, the Chamber said: “Primate evidence of the devolution of the investigation in favor of the NIA has been put forward.”

Proposed crimes that may be investigated by the NIA include those under the Explosives Act.

The matter will be heard again on May 10, as the court ordered.

The CID investigated the explosions at a house in Sadaipur in August 2019 and at another house in Lokpur in September this year.

The prosecutor claimed that the investigation had been satisfactorily conducted by the CID and said that the NIA tried to transfer the investigation after a year had elapsed.

The NIA lawyer argued that the Central Authority’s investigation was stalled by a stay granted by the Supreme Court and prayed for it to be lifted.

The bank noted that the NIA law requires the state agency to provide it with a report when registering an FIR relating to a proposed crime so that the central agency can decide whether or not to investigate the case.

“It appears that no such report has been submitted to the NIA by the state agency,” the bank said.

After the CID had continued the investigation for more than a year, the NIA had suo muto exercised the powers under the provisions of the NIA Act and transferred the investigation to itself.