We will dismiss it: Supreme Court on West Bengal's appeal against bail to Congress Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan

The State of West Bengal moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday against the Calcutta High Court order granting interim bail to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan to enable him to contest the Nandigram Assembly bypoll.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State, sought an urgent listing of the matter before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.

“He is in a Section 302 case (murder). He has been granted bail for election. Can I take a chance tomorrow? That's all I'm saying,” said Mehta.

CJI Kant, however, declined to list the matter for Thursday, saying the Court's board was already lengthy.

Pertinently, the CJI also indicated that the Court was not inclined to entertain the State's challenge and will dismiss the appeal when it comes up for hearing.

“Our board is very lengthy. We will surely dismiss this, but we will dismiss it on Monday, not tomorrow,” he said.

When Mehta again requested that the matter be listed on Thursday, CJI Kant replied,

“No. Monday.”

The six cases against Pradhan stem from the violence during the 2007 Nandigram land acquisition protests and include allegations of rioting and murder. The State had opposed the bail pleas, citing the seriousness of the offences.

The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and incumbent West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated the seat. Adhikari had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the Assembly elections but chose to retain Bhabanipur, resulting in the vacancy in Nandigram.

The Calcutta High Court, on September 29, had granted Pradhan interim bail in the six criminal cases, allowing him to participate in the Nandigram bypoll scheduled for October 6.

The High Court granted the relief after noting that Pradhan had filed his nomination before his arrest and that the cases were nearly 19 years old.

The High Court observed that the police had opportunities to execute the processes in the cases but arrested Pradhan only after he filed his nomination papers. It said Pradhan could be granted an opportunity to contest the election and released him on interim bail for that purpose.

The interim bail is subject to conditions, with Pradhan required to surrender before the trial court on October 21.

This High Court order granting Pradhan interim bail is now under challenge by the West Bengal government before the Supreme Court.

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