Trinamool leaders get interim bail after TMC Vs CBI showdown in Kolkata
The arrest of the TMC leaders, which included two ministers of the present Cabinet, saw day-long political drama playing out near the CBI office in Kolkata.
FollowThe special CBI court on Monday granted interim bail to Trinamool Congress leaders Madan Mitra, Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, and former party leader Sovan Chatterjee in the Narada sting case.
The CBI court granted the accused bail based on the recent judgment of the Supreme Court urging decongestion of prisons to avoid Covid-19 spread.Â
The Court noted that CBI had not sought custody of the four accused for interrogation. Instead, the prayer was for judicial custody, which cannot be a ground for the detention of the arrested persons.
"Over and above when the purpose of investigation has already been completed as against the arrested persons -- Madan Mitra, Firhad Hakim @ Bobby Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and Sovan Chatterjee -- and where there is no prayer for CBI custody for further interrogation, mere prayer for judicial custody cannot be the ground for the detention of the arrest persons," the order said.
All the arrested leaders are accused of accepting Rs 4 to 5 lakh as bribe in a sting operation by the Narada news portal in 2014. The 'Narada tapes', which were released just before the 2016 assembly elections, showed several TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs allegedly receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in exchange for promised favours. The Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the sting operation in March 2017.
Trinamool Vs CBI in Kolkata
The arrest of the TMC leaders, which included two ministers of the present Cabinet, saw day-long political drama playing out near the CBI office in Kolkata.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staged a six-hour stake-out at the CBI office in Nizam Palace along with the TMC cadre who earlier tried to break barricades but were pushed by paramilitary personnel.
The Trinamool and other parties have questioned the timing of the arrests with Mamata Banerjee beginning a new term in office and in the height of West Bengal's Covid surge.
West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay said, "The arrests were illegal. One needs to take consent from the Speaker of the state assembly before arresting an MLA. The CBI only took the Governor's consent"Â
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar too came under attack from the TMC.
Calling the Governor a "bloodsucker", TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed that the former is "now trying to secure a ticket before the 2024 elections from BJP."
