Kolkata, Sept. 30 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused an urgent hearing on West Bengal's challenge to the Calcutta High Court's interim bail to Congress Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan, indicating that it would dismiss the plea when it comes up on Monday.
"We can assure, we will dismiss it, but will dismiss on Monday," Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought a hearing on Thursday. The bench said the matter could be taken up on Monday, a day before the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll.
Mehta submitted that the challenge involved interim bail in a murder case and would become infructuous if not heard before the election. Friday is a holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti.
The High Court on Tuesday granted Pradhan three weeks' interim bail in six cases dating to the 2007 Nandigram agitation, allowing him to campaign. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh noted that Pradhan was not in custody when he filed his nomination and that the State had not shown that he was wanted in connection with any offence after 2007.
The court also noted that the cases had been investigated by the CBI and that the state had considerable time to execute warrants in cases nearly 19 years old.
Pradhan, arrested after filing his nomination, was released from Haldia jail on Wednesday. He said he would immediately begin campaigning for the October 6 election. The bail is in force until October 21.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.