Three senior CPI(M) leaders surrender in 2015 Tripura judge assault case

Agartala, Feb 2: Three senior leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M), surrendered before a Tripura court on Saturday, following a Supreme Court directive, in connection with a 2015 case of assaulting an on-duty judge and disrupting court proceedings.

The leaders—Tapas Datta, Trilokesh Sinha, and Badal Chandra Debnath—were accused of creating a ruckus inside a court during a trade union strike on September 2, 2015.

The strike, called by the CPI(M)’s trade union wing, saw party leaders engaged in picketing across the streets.

In the course of their agitation, they allegedly entered the court premises, leading to chaos and an assault on Ruhi Das Paul, the then district and sessions judge of South Tripura.

Following the incident, the then SDPO of Belonia lodged a suo motu FIR, and the case was initially tried in the court of a judicial magistrate first class.

The court found the leaders guilty under IPC Sections 447 (criminal trespass) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from duty), sentencing them to two years of imprisonment along with a monetary fine.

Challenging the verdict, the convicted leaders moved the District and Sessions Court, which upheld the sentence. They later appealed to the High Court, which also reaffirmed the lower court’s judgment. Eventually, they escalated the matter to the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court heard the case on February 18 and, after reviewing the matter, directed the convicts to surrender at the earliest. They have now complied with the directive,” an advocate representing the state said.

With the leaders in custody, the apex court is set to hear the matter again on March 18, 2025.