The Supreme Court in New Delhi on Monday granted a fortnight to the Lok Sabha Secretariat and other parties to present their responses to a petition filed by top-level civil servants from West Bengal, who are contesting their summoning by the Lok Sabha’s Committee of Privileges.

These high-ranking officials were summoned due to allegations of “misconduct” raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sukanta Majumdar. This accusation arose during his attempt to visit Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of the state, which had recently experienced violence.

On February 19, the apex court put a temporary hold on the summonses issued to the chief secretary, director general of police (DGP), and others from West Bengal by the privileges committee.

Majumdar was hospitalized after altercations between BJP members and law enforcement, which occurred when the saffron party’s members were hindered from accessing Sandeshkhali.

Chief Secretary Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika, former Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, and several others, including the district magistrate and superintendent of police of North 24 Parganas, were summoned to testify before the Lok Sabha’s privileges committee at 10:30 a.m. on February 19.

A judicial panel, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted the arguments presented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan on behalf of the state officials. The plea was scheduled for a hearing in two weeks.

“The involved parties must submit concise briefs, not exceeding five pages, within two weeks, and the case will be heard exactly two weeks from now,” remarked Chief Justice Chandrachud.

Singhvi informed the court that the Lok Sabha’s privileges committee had never acted so swiftly and there was no conceivable breach.

The court’s order from February 19 suspended any further proceedings based on the memorandum from February 15 addressed to the petitioners.

While pausing the summonses to the state officials, the bench scheduled a hearing for March 22. Chief Justice’s bench prioritized the petitions brought forth by the West Bengal officials due to the urgency of the matter.

The counsel representing the Lok Sabha Secretariat objected to the court’s issuance of a stay, stating this was the committee’s inaugural session.

“They are not under any specific accusation; this is a standard procedure. Once an MP issues a notice and the Speaker deems it appropriate, summonses are sent out,” explained the counsel, noting that this was an initial stage.

In addition to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Committee of Privileges of the Lok Sabha, Majumdar, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and the Ministry of Home Affairs were named as respondents to the petition filed by the state officials.

Majumdar and others were obstructed from entering Sandeshkhali, where local women were protesting alleged abuses by Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his followers.

Numerous women in the area accused Sheikh and his associates of land seizure and sexual assault under duress. Sheikh, who had been in hiding, was later apprehended.