Calcutta High Court: In an appeal filed by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh accused in 2019 Sandeshkhal ipost-poll violence case, against a Single Judge’s order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (‘CBI’) to conduct further investigation, the Division Bench of Debangsu Basak* and Prasenjit Biswas, JJ., held that an accused or prospective suspect had no legal right to be heard at the investigation stage or to challenge the appointment of investigating agency. The Court reaffirmed that the direction for an investigation by the CBI passed by the High Court, was not open to challenge by a prospective suspect or an accused in a criminal case.
Background
The case arose in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, where former TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh allegedly led a mob that killed three BJP workers during post-poll violence on 08-06-2019. He was later accused of attacking ED officials during a 2024 raid linked to a ration scam. As a result, three FIRs were registered at Nazat Police Station, naming him and others as accused. Following a police investigation, a chargesheet was subsequently filed.
Dissatisfied with investigation, Shahjahan Sheikh filed a writ petition alleging perfunctory investigation and sought transfer of probe to a specialised investigating agency, namely, the CBI. Accepting the contentions, the Single Judge directed CBI to conduct further investigations by constituting a special investigation team.
Challenging this, Shahjahan Sheikh contended that they were not impleaded as parties in the writ petition despite being directly affected. They argued that such omission violated the right to be heard, especially when the direction impacted them as accused. It was also claimed that the writ petition was filed behind time and that no challenge had been made to the chargesheet before the Trial Court.
The respondent alleged that Shahjahan Sheikh had no say in the matter of which agency investigated the offence. It was further argued that the appellant was neither a necessary nor a proper party to the writ petition in which the impugned judgment and order had been passed.
Analysis and Decision:
The Court emphasised that as an accused, Shahjahan Sheikh , did not have a right to be heard at the stage of investigation or have a say in the matter of an appointment of an investigating agency, since the rule of audi alteram partem was not super imposed at the stage of investigation so far as an accused was concerned.
The Court opined that it was not obliged to hear the accused or make the accused a party to a writ petition, in which, the writ petitioner had sought direction for investigation to be conducted by a particular investigating agency. The Court further noted that the direction for an investigation by the CBI passed by the High Court, was not open to challenge by a prospective suspect or an accused in a criminal case.
The Court referred to Ramachandraiah v. M. Manjula, 2025 SCC Online SC 893, wherein it was held that once an FIR was registered and investigation had taken place, direction for an investigation by the CBI was not open to challenge by the prospective suspect or accused, since the matter for entrusting investigation to a particular agency was basically at the discretion of the Court. The Court further observed that the accused was not a party to the writ petition in which, by the impugned judgment and order, a direction had been passed for investigation by the CBI, but was an accused in the criminal cases that the CBI had been directed to investigate.
The Court, therefore concluded that Shahjahan Sheikh had no right to appeal against the impugned judgment and order, and consequently dismissed the appeal.
[Sahajahan Sk v. Supriya Mandal Gayen, 2025 SCC OnLine Cal 6393, decided on 04-08-2025]
*Judgment authored by: Justice Debangsu Basak
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Appellants: Fazlur Rahman, Adv., Md. Babul Hussain, Adv., Dona sanyal, Adv., Mihinur Hossain, Adv., Sulagna Sen, Adv.
For the Respondents: Billwadal Bhattacharyya, Ld. Sr. Adv., Moyukh Mukherjee, Adv., Sagnika Banerjee Adv., Tamoghna Pramanik, Adv., Reshmi Bothra, Adv., Piyas Choudhury, Adv., Dhiraj Trevedi, Ld. Sr. Adv. & Ld. LSG, Amajit De, Special PP, CBI.
