Kolkata, Oct. 5 -- The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with the electoral process involving Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the Nandigram Assembly by-election, with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant telling the West Bengal government to let him contest the polls peacefully.
The court adjourned the state's challenge to Pradhan's interim bail to October 7.
The hearing took a turn after Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused himself, citing a conflict of interest. The judge said he had represented some parties connected with the underlying case during his years as a lawyer.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, sought an urgent hearing and pointed to non-bailable warrants issued against Pradhan in 2007 which, according to him, had remained unexecuted. He alleged that Pradhan had been protected by the administration and that the warrants surfaced only after he filed his nomination.
CJI Surya Kant questioned the alleged failure to execute the warrants and said accountability should instead be fixed on the police officers responsible. "Then action should be taken against those police officers," the CJI observed, stressing the need for accountability in the system.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Pradhan, argued that the state was seeking relief only at the eleventh hour, despite the case being nearly two decades old. He also pointed out that the bail was temporary and would expire on October 21.
The Calcutta High Court had granted Pradhan interim bail on September 29, observing that he was not in custody when he filed his nomination and that the state had not shown why the old warrants remained unexecuted.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.