The Calcutta High Court on Friday denied interim bail for all four Bengal politicians – including two ministers – in jail after being arrested by the CBI earlier this week in connection with the Narada case.
All four will now be placed under house arrest, the court ruled.
The order was passed shortly after a difference of opinion split the two-member bench – acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal ordered house arrest but Justice Arijit Banerjee ordered interim bail.
Now, a larger bench will be constituted which will hear the matter,” Manishankar Chatterjee, the lawyer for Subrata Mukherjee, said.
“Meanwhile, the four accused will be under house arrest with all necessary medical assistance. They will be able to work virtually but cannot meet anyone,” Niladri Bhattacharya, the lawyer for Madan Mitra, said.
State ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee were arrested from their homes by the CBI on Monday morning.
The CBI has named a total of 13 politicians and officials in the Narada case.
The sting operation was conducted in 2014 and the video tapes were made public just before the assembly elections in Bengal in 2016 when Mamata Banerjee-led TMC returned to power for the second consecutive time.
Hearing in the case is still in progress following prayers from both sides for further arguments on the court’s house arrest order. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, has pleaded for a stay on the execution of the order.
