SC Rejects Plea Seeking SIT Probe into Murshidabad Violence, Raps Petitioner for Skipping High Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition requesting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the recent communal violence that erupted in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The apex court strongly criticized the petitioner for approaching it directly without first moving the Calcutta High Court.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh expressed firm disapproval, stating, “Why don’t you go to the High Court — a constitutional court with powers better than the Supreme Court under Article 32?” The judges emphasized that such direct writ petitions to the Supreme Court, especially in region-specific matters, weaken the constitutional role of High Courts.

“If it was a matter involving 7–8 states, we could understand, but this is not one such case,” the bench said, underlining that the Calcutta High Court was the appropriate forum to hear the issue first.

The petitioner, advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, was granted the liberty to approach the High Court for appropriate relief. However, the court warned of taking “very serious” action in the future if litigants continued bypassing constitutional forums by directly approaching the top court in such cases.

This is not the first time the court had dealt with this plea. In an earlier hearing, the same petitioner had withdrawn a similar petition after the bench raised objections to the language and tone used in his submission. “The Supreme Court is a court of record. Posterity will see… You have to be careful with your pleadings,” Justice Kant had said, advising the advocate to maintain greater responsibility in drafting legal documents.

The communal unrest in Murshidabad had drawn attention due to its timing amid heightened sensitivities surrounding the Waqf (Amendment) Act.