Kolkata, Aug. 25 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Calcutta High Court order that had struck down two West Bengal government notifications creating dedicated police stations for the Special Task Force (STF) and assigning specific courts to try cases investigated by the units.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued notice on the state government's appeal against the June 19 order. "With the advent of cyber crimes, etc., more courts are needed. Why should the high court have a problem with it?" the Chief Justice remarked.
The high court had held that the state could not alter the criminal justice framework through executive notifications. While the STF, constituted in 2019 to investigate specified offences, was valid, it ruled that the government lacked the authority to create exclusive STF police stations and a separate trial structure outside the existing legal framework.
The challenge was filed by members of the Jalpaiguri Bar Association against notifications issued on January 30 and February 10, 2025. The first notification created STF headquarters police stations at Salt Lake and Siliguri. The second brought them under designated courts: the Salt Lake unit under the ACJM and ADJ Special Court at Bidhannagar, and the Siliguri unit under the ACJM and ADJ-II at Siliguri.
The STF was set up to combat terrorism, organised crime, illegal arms and ammunition and drug-related offences across Bengal.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.