The Supreme Court refused to stay the NIA investigation in the Beldanga violence case of Murshidabad. The court described the decision of the Calcutta High Court as balanced and said that the investigating agency should be allowed to continue investigating the case.
SC Gives Green Signal to NIA Probe (Image Source: Internet)
Murshidabad: The Supreme Court has given an important decision in the case of the outbreak of violence in the Beldanga area of the Murshidabad district of West Bengal in January 2026. The Supreme Court of India on Monday refused to stay the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation in this case.
In fact, the state government had challenged the decision of the Calcutta High Court, in which the order was given to hand over the investigation of the case to the NIA.
The Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, said the high court's decision was "balanced" and there was no need to interfere.
The court said that it had earlier also asked the High Court to objectively look at all the evidence and facts related to the case and decide whether an NIA investigation is necessary or not.
Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for the West Bengal government, said in the court that there is no solid basis for implementing terrorism-related law in this case.
He raised the question that when the Supreme Court has already expressed doubt on this matter, then how did the High Court approve the NIA investigation?
The incident took place on January 16, 2026, when anger spread in the area following the death of a migrant laborer from Murshidabad working in Jharkhand.
After this, a large number of people came out on the streets, blocking the railway tracks and the national highway for several hours. During this period, about 12 people were injured in the clashes and about 30 people were arrested.
Several laws, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), were also involved in the investigation of the case. Under this law, NIA got the right to investigate.
However, the state government says that there is not enough evidence to invoke the UAPA section in this case.
Now NIA has got permission to continue investigating the case. The High Court has directed the agency to file the status report by March 24. More facts may come to light in the further hearing regarding this matter.
