: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 11:08 PM
Kolkata. Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, approached the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday expressing serious concerns over his personal safety. He also accused the state police officials of lack of adequate vigilance and security. His counsel raised the matter before the division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen and drew the court’s attention to the state police’s alleged failure to ensure proper security arrangements for the opposition leader despite ongoing threats and recent incidents. Subsequently, the counsel formally filed a petition before the Division Bench seeking appropriate directions from the High Court regarding security arrangements and rescue of Suvendu Adhikari. The move by the officer came a day after the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) faced protests outside the office in Kolkata, where a group of booth-level officers (BLOs), who allegedly had the support of the Trinamool Congress, demonstrated against him. During the protest, shoes were allegedly thrown at the officer in the presence of police personnel, who, according to his lawyer, failed to control the situation or take effective steps to stop the incident.
It has also been alleged in the petition that despite the opposition leader’s protest and push in front of the CEO’s office, the police did not take immediate action. The division bench allowed the petition to be filed and agreed to consider the matter, which is likely to be heard later this week. On Tuesday, tension broke out outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in central Kolkata when booth-level officers protesting during the officer’s visit to collect deputation gathered there.
After this incident, the officer made strong remarks criticizing the protesting BLOs and expressed his displeasure over the behavior of the people involved in the protest. It may be recalled that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to the security of the leader of the opposition is already pending before the bench of the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
The PIL seeks directions to ensure that political workers and supporters do not come close to the opposition leader during public programs or official work, so that security is not breached. Apart from the pending PIL, Adhikari’s new petition raises specific concerns over the recent protest incident and alleged shortcomings in security arrangements.
Earlier, the officer had also approached the Calcutta High Court after miscreants allegedly attacked his convoy at Chandrakona in West Midnapore district. In that case, the officer told the court that instead of taking action against the attackers, the police had registered a case against them. Subsequently, Justice Shubhra Ghosh passed an interim order restraining the authorities from taking any coercive action against the opposition leader in connection with the case. –
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Web Title-Suvendu Adhikari approaches Calcutta High Court over security concerns after BLO protest