KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to allow Congress candidate Milan Pradhan to contest the October 6 bypoll from the Nandigram Assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district. The court also directed the state police not to take any action against him in connection with a 2007 criminal case until October 12.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh verbally asked the state to allow Pradhan to contest the Nandigram bypoll.
“Allow Milan Pradhan to contest the election. I am giving him interim bail so that he can take part in the election. The remaining matter will depend on the case lying with the court,” Justice Ghosh observed.
The next hearing of the case will be held on Friday.
Seeking bail for Pradhan, his lawyers had moved the High Court on Wednesday. They sought permission to file a petition and requested an urgent hearing for their client, who is contesting the Nandigram bypoll. The court allowed them to file a bail petition.
On Thursday, Justice Ghosh observed that the state government should allow the Congress candidate to contest the election.
Last Friday, Pradhan was arrested by police in Chandipur in connection with his alleged involvement in a 19-year-old case dating back to 2007. Police had registered cases against him at Nandigram and Khejuri police stations on charges including alleged murder, attempt to murder, loot and unlawful assembly during the 2007 agitation against land acquisition in Nandigram, when the Left Front government was in power in West Bengal.
He was arrested in connection with two cases. Earlier, he had approached the court seeking protection in five other cases pending against him. His lawyer argued that Pradhan should be given an opportunity to contest the October 6 election. The hearing of this petition was also held on Thursday before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.
Justice Bhattacharyya said Pradhan would not be treated as arrested in case number 45 of 2007 at Khejuri police station in Purba Medinipur district, in which a lower court had sent him to judicial remand until October 7.
Justice Bhattacharyya verbally told Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar to allow Pradhan to contest the October 6 bypoll. Campaigning for the bypoll ends on October 4.
The court had on September 22 also verbally asked the state government to allow Pradhan to contest the Nandigram bypoll, subject to his obtaining bail in five criminal cases in which he had been arrested.
On Thursday, the court questioned why Pradhan had been shown as arrested in another case after the state had told it that there were five pending criminal cases against him.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) on Wednesday drew the Calcutta High Court's attention to an affidavit filed by BJP-nominated candidate Hasirani Rath from the Nandigram constituency.
The Congress alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had scrutinised the affidavit filed by the BJP candidate but had not taken any steps despite alleged serious discrepancies concerning her age and educational qualifications mentioned in the document.
The Congress had also lodged a complaint with the ECI against Hasirani Rath on Tuesday.
Raising allegations of discrepancies concerning Rath's age and academic qualifications, the Bengal Congress demanded that the ECI conduct an impartial inquiry into the matter.