No more protection for Jahangir, Calcutta HC tells him ‘surrender & cooperate’

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday refused to extend the interim protection earlier granted to Jahangir Khan and directed him to surrender before the police and cooperate with the investigation in multiple cases registered against him. The vacation bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed that the protection earlier granted during the Assembly by-election period could not continue after completion of the election process in Falta.

Jahangir Khan’s legal team had moved the vacation bench seeking an extension of the interim relief that had earlier been granted till May 26. During the hearing, the court questioned why the protection should continue after the by-election process had ended and noted that complaints had already been lodged with the police, making cooperation with the investigation necessary. Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed, “Whether right or wrong, complaints have been filed with the police. That means you have to cooperate with the investigation. Surrender before the police and cooperate with the probe.”

The court was informed that multiple FIRs had been lodged against Jahangir Khan at Falta Police Station. Jahangir, who had contested as the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Falta Assembly by-election, had earlier approached the court seeking protection from coercive action. During Tuesday’s hearing, the Officer-in-Charge of Falta Police Station submitted a report regarding the cases registered against him. The state also informed the court that despite repeated notices, Jahangir allegedly did not cooperate with the investigation.

During the proceedings, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar informed the court that a related matter had earlier been listed before another bench, where the interim order had already been vacated and referred back to the regular bench. Jahangir’s lawyer Kishore Dutta argued that several cases had been filed against his client following the political change in the state and requested continuation of the interim protection. However, the court observed that the cases were still at a preliminary stage and required proper investigation.

The state further argued that Jahangir had originally received interim protection because he was contesting the election, but later publicly announced that he would withdraw himself as a candidate. Although he later stepped back from the contest, his name remained on the EVM because the withdrawal reportedly came late in the process. The court also suggested that Jahangir could withdraw the petition and move the regular bench afresh, but his legal team reportedly declined to withdraw the plea.