SC allows Centre to pull forces from Darjeeling after March 8

TNN | Feb 22, 2018, NEW DELHI/DARJEELING: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Centre to withdraw the remaining four companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) from Darjeeling area after March 8. The West Bengal government had wanted these forces to stay back for another four weeks.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and including justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered attorney general K K Venugopal’s submission that the deployment of CAPF fell under the Centre’s administrative domain and allowed it to withdraw the remaining CAPF companies.

The SC set aside the Calcutta High Court order, which had restrained the Centre from withdrawing CAPF from the state’s hilly regions because normalcy had not returned, and said the pending case in the HC would now stand disposed of. On Wednesday, the Centre had moved the SC requesting removal of the remaining four companies from Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

While GJM leader Binay Tamang refused comment on Wednesday’s ruling, GNLF said withdrawal of the central forces would not have much impact on the Hills. “Withdrawal of central forces is a state and central government matter. The Bengal government chief secretary may have briefed the Centre,” said Niraj Zimba, GNLF spokesperson.

Jan Andolan Party president Harka Bahadur Chhetri hailed the decision. “If the SC feels everything is all right in the Hills, then there is no need to contradict it as the decision must have been taken after a lot of consideration. The Bengal government has also given indication that things are normal in the Hills,” he said.

The Supreme Court had earlier permitted the Centre to withdraw four of the eight CAPF companies from Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Before that, the Centre was allowed to withdraw 7 of the 15 companies from the two districts for deployment along the borders of J&K and the northeast besides the then poll-bound Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.