Top Bengal cabinet ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee and two former ministers Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee, house arrest has been ordered by the Calcutta High Court on Friday in connection with the Narada sting case.
The Court ordered that the TMC leaders will be kept under house arrest instead of jail, in tune with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the Gautam Navlakha case. TMC leader counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought a stay on the house arrest order. All these top ministers were arrested on Monday by the CBI after a high drama.
Justice Arijit Banerjee of the Calcutta HC bench has consented to grant interim bail to the arrested Trinamool leaders, however, Justice Rajesh Bindal, the acting chief justice has ordered house arrest and said let the matter be referred to a larger bench for interim bail.
CBI Special Court had granted interim bail to all the four accused on May 17.
This bail order was, however, stayed by the Calcutta High Court after a hearing conducted that same evening.
The bail order was granted after the CBI sought a transfer of the case from the CBI Court, citing a threat to the probe agency and 'extraordinary circumstances’. The probe agency has also said that it was unable to produce the four accused in court physically due to the violent protest of TMC workers outside the office in Kolkata. A day after the drama following the arrests of the leaders, a special court had granted them bail. However, within hours the Calcutta High Court had cancelled the bail order, following which the four leaders were taken to the Presidency prison in Kolkata.
A day after the arrest the three of the four arrested leaders -- Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Sovan Chatterjee complained of illness and were admitted to a hospital in Kolkata.
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West Bengal witnessed a high end heated drama on Monday following the arrest of TMC leaders outside the CBI office building. CM Mamata Banerjee sat on dharna calling the arrest illegal.