Saradha scam: SC declines Rajeev Kumar's plea for extension of protection from arrest

Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar Friday failed to get any relief from the Supreme Court which declined to entertain his petition seeking extension of protection from arrest in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.

He was granted protection from arrest on May 17 by the apex court for seven days which was ending today and he had filed a fresh petition seeking to restrain the CBI from taking any coercive action against him.

However, a vacation bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said Kumar's plea was not "maintainable" as a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had already passed an order in the matter on May 17 and the IPS officer should not have filed a fresh writ petition.

The bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, said that Kumar can personally approach the Calcutta High Court or the trial court there for seeking relief in the case.

"A petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India cannot be said to be maintainable as the petitioner (Kumar) has also filed an application for extension of time before this court," the bench said in its order.

At the outset, the bench told Kumar's counsel that a bench headed by the CJI had already passed an order in the matter and later the CJI had also declined urgent listing of an application filed by the IPS officer seeking extension of protection from arrest.

"Is it maintainable (the writ petition)? You can go to the high court or the trial court as the courts are functional there," the bench told advocate Sunil Fernandes, who was representing Kumar.

When Fernandes said that courts in Kolkata are not functioning due to ongoing lawyers' strike, the bench said, "You are wrong. The courts are sitting there. All judges are sitting in courts and they are hearing the litigants."
The bench noted in its order that it is open for Kumar to approach the concerned court "as the courts in the state of West Bengal are functioning, appear in person and seek the remedy before the concerned court."