The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday withdrew its petitions in the Supreme Court seeking to transfer trials in cases related to the 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal to courts outside the state, citing “changed circumstances”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central agency, sought permission to withdraw the petitions before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The bench, which also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, allowed the request.
The transfer petitions were filed in December 2023, when the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee was in power in West Bengal. The CBI had cited apprehensions of witness intimidation, threats to prosecution lawyers and concerns that the prevailing circumstances could undermine the fairness of the trials.
The agency had also relied on a report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which recommended that cases investigated by the CBI in connection with the violence be tried outside West Bengal.
CBI had raised concerns over fair trials
The petitions arose from cases registered following allegations of attacks, intimidation and other offences after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. The CBI had sought to move the proceedings outside the state, arguing that threats to witnesses and lawyers could obstruct the course of justice.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed proceedings in the cases covered by the transfer petitions amid concerns about alleged threats and intimidation directed at complainants, advocates, witnesses and officials involved in the prosecutions.
In September 2024, the Supreme Court had also criticised the CBI over broad allegations concerning the functioning of the West Bengal judiciary in its transfer plea. The bench questioned the agency's claim that courts across the state were operating in a hostile environment and observed that such sweeping assertions cast aspersions on the judiciary. The agency was subsequently permitted to withdraw the petition at that stage, with liberty to pursue fresh proceedings.
Change in government in West Bengal
The withdrawal comes after a change in the state's political leadership. Following the 2026 Assembly elections, a BJP government led by Suvendu Adhikari assumed power in West Bengal, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule under Mamata Banerjee.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated 458 fresh inquiries and registered 181 new first information reports (FIRs) in connection with complaints relating to the 2021 violence. It has also reopened 59 cases in which final reports had previously been submitted.
The Supreme Court's permission to withdraw the transfer petitions means the agency's request to move the trials outside West Bengal will no longer be pursued through those petitions. The withdrawal does not determine the merits of the underlying criminal cases.