Lekha G
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has pleaded before the Calcutta High Court to cancel the proceedings before the Special CBI Court following arrest of political leaders in the Narada sting tape case.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI said that the State Chief Minister had sat on a dharna at the agency’s office on May 17 in view of the arrests and mobs of thousands of people at the office at Nizam Palace and further urged to cancel the entire proceedings on account of such pressure on that day.
The bench had granted interim bail on May 28 to Ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra and Former Kolkata Mayor, Sovan Chatterjee, who was arrested on May 17 by the CBI.
The Special CBI Court had granted bail on the same day but the Calcutta High Court stayed the order remanding them to judicial custody and further on May 21 the Court placed them under house arrest modifying its earlier order.
The Narada sting operation was conducted by journalist Mathew Samuel of Narada News, a web portal, in 2014 wherein various political leaders were seen receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in return for certain favours.
The five-judge bench adjourned the hearing in the matter till Wednesday.