Agartala: A Tripura High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Arindam Lodh dismissed all three writ petitions against former District Magistrate of West Tripura Sailesh Kumar Yadav regarding his controversial raids on two marriage banquet halls.
Yadav, then the chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority, conducted the raids in the marriage halls which were allegedly functioning flouting the COVID-19 curbs on April 26, 2021-when the second wave of the Covid pandemic was at its peak.
His raids and actions inside the marriage halls drew widespread criticism and caused public outrage. Even Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam also criticized his action calling it unbecoming of his post.
Speaking on the issue, advocate Samrat Kar Bhowmik who defended Yadav in the court stated that the Court after going through all the inquiry reports and related evidence dismissed the petitions.
“Soon after the incident, a two-member probe panel was constituted by the state government to conduct an inquiry. When the hearing of the petitions began, the High Court called for the inquiry report but the Court was not satisfied with the findings in the report. The Court appointed one retired judicial officer to assist the probe panel and submit their report. The Court didn’t find the second report satisfactory as well. The third inquiry was conducted under another retired judicial officer. After going through all the reports and prolonged hearing the Court found Yadav not guilty on May 22, 2024,” he added.
According to the senior advocate, the defence could submit enough evidence which proves that the marriage halls were flouting the COVID norms, the number of people inside the halls was higher than the permissible limit, the hygienic practices prescribed by the health experts were not adhered to and all these violations were going on amidst night curfew hours (special curbs enforced between 10 pm to 5 am).
“It was a fact that the district magistrate issued permission to solemnize the marriage but conditions like timing of the gathering and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour were also imposed. We have shown the Court that the rituals were solemnised at around 6 pm and people in those halls were just merrymaking disregarding the gravity of the situation,” he added.
Also Watch: Tripura DM thrashes groom for flouting night curfew