The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Suvendu Adhikari challenging a police case registered against him, after district authorities confirmed that a search of a premises in Kolaghat during the 2024 parliamentary elections uncovered no unlawful materials.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya disposed of the application as not pressed after Adhikari’s advocate, Mayukh Mukherjee, submitted that his client did not wish to pursue the matter in light of the official findings submitted by law enforcement.
Police Report Cites Miscommunication
The formal closure in court came after the officer-in-charge of Kolaghat police station presented a report detailing the outcome of the operation conducted in Purba Medinipur district. The police stated that officers searched the Kolaghat residence during the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections following source-based intelligence.
According to the report submitted to Justice Bhattacharyya, the search yielded no incriminating evidence whatsoever. Police clarified that the operation appeared to have stemmed from a miscommunication.
Background Of The Kolaghat Search
The legal dispute originated from a suo motu First Information Report filed on May 22, 2024, by the then officer-in-charge of Kolaghat police station. Mukherjee informed the court that authorities had initiated the case on allegations that improvised explosives and cash were being harboured at the premises.
Adhikari, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly at the time and referenced in the case, had approached the high court to contest the police action. The high court had subsequently granted interim relief by staying the operation of the FIR on May 24, 2024, before Tuesday’s final disposal of the petition.
