The Supreme Court Wednesday transferred to the CBI two FIRs lodged against West Bengal BJP leader Kabir Shankar Bose pertaining to the 2020 scuffle between his security staff and TMC workers observing there was a politically charged atmosphere in the state.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Pankaj Mithal said the political scenario in West Bengal was apparently opposed to the party in power at the Centre.

It noted that Bose was previously married to the daughter of TMC MP Kalyan Banerji, who was a party in the case, but the union ended in a divorce, paving way for bitter enmity between the two.

The top court said in the admitted position, the possibility of the petitioner not having a fair investigation by the local police or the local police not behaving cordially with him, was perhaps not baseless and couldn't be outrightly brushed aside.

"Thus, looking at the facts of this case particularly, that respondent number 7 is a parliamentarian from the ruling party in the state of West Bengal and that the petitioner belongs to the ruling party at the Centre, the politically charged atmosphere in the state of West Bengal may not be very conducive to a fair investigation being conducted in the instant case."

The bench as a result considered it appropriate to transfer the probe to the CBI instead of keeping it pending for an indefinite period.

The apex court said the case involved the investigation of the role of CISF or its personnel which cannot be left in the hands of the local police also for reasons of conflicting interests.

Therefore, it is not appropriate to permit the local police to examine the conduct of CISF personnel in the instant case, it added.

The top court was acting on a plea filed by Bose seeking a direction for transfer of the investigation to the CBI or a special investigation team, or any independent agency from the West Bengal police.

"Accordingly, for all the above reasons and in the peculiar facts of this case, a writ of mandamus is issued to the state-respondents to handover the investigation pursuant to the two FIRs aforesaid to the CBI along with all records, for its completion so that, if necessary, the trial may commence and justice is done to the parties," the bench said.

The BJP leader also sought a stay of the investigation and further proceedings in FIRs lodged against him by the West Bengal police pertaining to the alleged scuffle.

Bose, an advocate by profession, claimed in his plea that on December 6, he along with his CISF guards came under heavy attack and sloganeering in West Bengal's Serampore under the leadership of one Santosh Kumar Singh alias Pappu Singh just outside his residence at around 8 pm.

"As part of the protocol, CISF immediately secured the petitioner in a secured location and removed him from the spot. What ensued thereafter was protocol on the part of CISF to secure their protectee's life and the petitioner was not even present at the spot. Till 2 am, the entire building was under siege by over 200 TMC hooligans led by Kalyan Banerji, the sitting member of parliament of the area supported actively by the state police," alleged the plea.