The Calcutta High Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking a central agency probe into the chaos that abruptly ended the Lionel Messi event at the Salt Lake Stadium earlier this month.
After the hearing of three Public Interest Litigations (PIL) on the fiasco concluded, the order passed by the division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen said, “So far SIT is concerned, the purpose is to conduct investigation. It is trite that investigation is the statutory right of the police. Thus, prima facie we find substance in the argument of the State that doctrine of necessity can be pressed into service in a case of this nature, where DGP and Senior Police Officers are involved. It could not be established that members of SIT had any interest in the event in question and for these reasons also, we are not inclined to interfere in the investigation at this stage. This is trite that investigation/enquiry cannot be directed to be transferred to CBI or to any other agency on mere asking or merely because a party has leveled allegations.”
It also directed the West Bengal government and organisers to file their Affidavit In Opposition in four weeks and Exception/Affidavit-in-Reply within two weeks therefrom.
It also questioned if an independent assessment was made before issuing the close proximity passes or if they were issued on demand.
The court said, “While issuing the close proximity passes, was an enquiry made regarding the requirements? In an event like this, do you not make an independent assessment or do you issue it on demand?”
Senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee submitted, “Satadru Dutta, the prime organiser of the event, had made requisition for 400 passes from Kolkata airport to the private hotel to Salt Lake stadium ground. Twenty-seven close proximity passes and 373 duty passes were issued. Laltu Das of that team made requisition for 12 close proximity passes in the name of Shah Rukh Khan. The Intelligence Bureau of West Bengal issued 12 close proximity passes to the Chief Minister and other government officials. Social media cell was issued six passes. Senior personnel of Kolkata Police were given 25 passes. So in total, 82 close proximity passes were issued.”
“On November 7, NOC (no objection certificate) was granted for the Messi event in reference to a letter submitted by the organisers. We have not received any written communication from the organisers regarding the list of celebrities and details of the schedule. There was no permission to carry water bottles, which were thrown onto the ground by irate spectators, and the matter is under investigation,” Banerjee said.
“The Union Home Ministry had decided to provide Z category security to Messi. The CRPF was in charge of his security. On December 12, two CRPF officers said they would handle it but no details were disclosed. The Central force did not consult with the state government or local police regarding the plan,” the senior state counsel said.
He also said why questions were not raised or complaints filed about the price of the tickets before the event. “Those allegations are very vague. The programme is not state-sponsored. The tickets have been sold by the organiser. If losses have been incurred, I am not the agent to recover the money unless the court instructs. Rs 21 crore in five accounts of Satadru Dutta have been frozen.”
Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharya, lawyer for Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who is one of the petitioners, questioned the source of funds for the event and sought a direction to the organisers to refund the tickets.
“The organiser was a scapegoat. It was a state-sponsored event. Photos with Messi were sold at Rs 10 lakh and that was controlled by Fire Minister Sujit Bose. For this reason, Messi reached the stadium 40 minutes late. Satadru has said only 150 passes were initially issued but then an influential minister forced to triple the number,” he submitted.
The second petition, filed by advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee, challenging the validity of the decision by the state government to set up a special investigation team (SIT) hurriedly after the incident, sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and an audit.
“This is a unique problem. Video footage show passes in bulk being distributed. We want an investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and ED. This is a money laundering case,” Chatterjee submitted.
Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, representing another petitioner, submitted, “This is a massive scam to loot money from the public without delivering what was promised. The state investigation cannot be impartial. The probe must be conducted by a central agency.”
Counsel Indranil Roy representing Satadru Dutta Organisation informed the court that no untoward incident occurred in the other three other places where Messi went.
“The events went smoothly in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Messi’s security was manned by NSG. Nobody could enter the field without passes. In Kolkata, spectators tried to touch Messi despite repeated announcements. What can the organisers do? Even the police went to take selfies with the Argentine football star,” Roy said.