Calcutta HC rejects Bengal govt's request to make NHRC report on post-poll rape allegations public

The court has rejected the request citing the privacy of the victims whose names feature in the report.

"We reject the plea of the State of West Bengal for a copy of Annexure I which is part of the NHRC report. This is being rejected because it holds names of sexual assault victims," a five-judge bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal said as quoted by Live Law.

Also the court has granted some extra days, till Jul 26, to the state government to submit a reply to the final report submitted by a team of the NHRC.

In its 50-page report submitted to the court Jul 13, the NHRC termed the post-poll violence as a "retributive violence by supporters of the ruling party against supporters of the main opposition party".

At least 16 people were killed in the violence, which occurred after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) stormed back to power for the third consecutive term in West Bengal May 2.

Reports of sexual assaults and rape have also surfaced, giving an arm to the state's opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to corner the TMC government.

Alleging a nexus between the NHRC and BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said, "The BJP does vandalism the most after the elections. The mother of the thief shouts the most. One of the members of the NHRC belongs to the BJP. He was a member of the All India BJP students' unit."

"As per the instructions given by the BJP, the NHRC member wrote a report consisting of some made up stories, submitted it to the court and handed over the report to the press publicly even before the judiciary arrived at a decision," she added.