Narada case: CBI moves SC against 'house arrest' order, seeks adjournment of HC hearing

In a key development, the CBI moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court's order directing house arrest of 4 West Bengal leaders in the Narada case. Subsequently, it sought adjournment of the hearing before the Constitution Bench of the Calcutta HC scheduled at 11 am on Monday. It is pertinent to note that the division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Bindal gave conflicting opinions on May 21 and referred the matter to a larger bench. 

While Justice Banerjee held that a prima facie case is made out for interim bail, the Chief Justice disagreed and said that WB Ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and ex-legislator Sovan Chatterjee must be kept under house arrest. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stressed that there was an "orchestrated attempt" to see that justice was not done when the Special CBI court heard the case. Maintaining that the country never witnessed such hooliganism until now, he also hinted at the ability of the accused persons to influence the witnesses and the trial. 

Refusing to allow Solicitor General's prayer for a stay on the 'house arrest' order, the HC noted, "Considering the age and health of the accused and the reasons which we have assigned in the earlier orders passed, we do not find any reason to stay the operation of the order as the accused persons still remain in judicial custody though only the manner has changed".

Meanwhile, the court permitted the accused to deal with the files sent to them online and hold meetings via video conferencing. It also ordered that a complete record of any person visiting their house shall be maintained along with its duration and the purpose. 

What is the Narada case?

Ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls, some TMC leaders were accused of accepting a substantial amount of illegal gratification from Samuel leading to the registration of an FIR under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7, 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (a) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. While CBI initially arrested IPS officer SMH Mirza, he is currently out on bail. The arrest of Hakim, Mukherjee, Mitra and Chatterjee on May 17 propelled a protest from TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee who demanded the unconditional release of these leaders and sat on a 6-hour long dharna with her supporters outside the CBI office for 6 hours.

This propelled a protest from the CM who demanded the unconditional release of these leaders and sat on a 6-hour long dharna with her supporters outside the CBI office for 6 hours. Moreover, Law Minister Moloy Ghatak was continuously present in the court of the Special CBI judge when the accused were produced virtually. Granting interim bail to the 4 leaders, the Special CBI court took into account the fact that the agency didn't ask for their custody and the SC's latest order on the decongesting of prisons. Staying the order, the Calcutta HC initially sent them to judicial custody but later allowed them to be kept under house arrest.