The Calcutta High Court while hearing today a writ petition filed against Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal has pulled up the West Bengal Government for maintaining silence over Pal's derogatory comments against women.
"He made certain comment which is not only unwarranted but he should also be punished properly so that nobody dare to make any derogatory comment anymore. That's why when the matter was taken up for hearing before the honourable justice Dipankar Dutta he raised a valid question whether even without lodging any formal complaint. Whether the state can be a silent spectator particularly paragraph five of writ petition where we have set out the comment made by Tapas Palm," Subrata Mukhopadhyay, counsel of the petitioner said.
"Now the other question that is raised by Justice Dutta himself that was unanswered by the learned government pleader, in one hand he was saying that he was not defending Tapas Pal , but on the other hand try to desist that the writ petition was not maintainable in the present form. Ultimately the court was of the view prima facie that the writ petition filed by petitioner was maintainable, and it will be taken up for further hearing. In order to accommodate to learned government pleader to take instruction, as to what is the state version regarding the comment," he added.
Samit Sanyal the writ petitioner had questioned that within periphery of our constitution and other law particularly like CrPC whether it is permissible under law for Pal to make such comments.
Tapas Pal, an MP from Bengal's Krishnanagar, who is now advised to take complete bed rest after he complained of a sudden increase in blood pressure, had kicked started a controversy when he was caught on tape exhorting party workers to kill CPI-M activists even as he himself asserted he will gun down his rivals and let loose his "boys" to rape their women. After his comments created huge uproar in the country the TMC MP had to tender to his party and the media an apology last week.