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Debjit Mukherjee: The Supreme Court on Friday said there was no basis to entertain a request made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari to shift the election petition filed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee against his Nandigram victory in 2021 to a high court outside the state.
Allowing Adhikari, also leader of opposition in the West Bengal assembly, to withdraw his plea, the bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said that any order to this effect would be treated as an expression of “lack of faith” in the high court and it was wrong to assume that the high court was not capable to deal with any complaints regarding the safety of witnesses or fairness of the trial.
“If we transfer, it will be seen as an expression of lack of faith in the high court. We will not allow you the choice of the high court. Let the trial start. At that time if the witnesses state that I can’t appear, then you can move the high court. Let us allow the high court to control their litigation. We have to have faith in our high courts”.
