Supreme Court delivers setback to West Bengal police over Nandigram candidate's bail

Voting in Nandigram is scheduled for October 6.

The Supreme Court orally told the West Bengal police that it would “definitely dismiss” its appeal against the interim bail granted to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in the Nandigram by-election. However, the court denied an immediate hearing on the appeal, stating that the matter would be taken up on Monday. The Calcutta High Court had granted Pradhan interim bail to campaign and contest in the by-election. Voting in Nandigram is scheduled for October 6, Tuesday.

Live Law reported that during the morning's request for an immediate hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought an early listing of the Bengal police's appeal. He urged the bench of Chief Justice Suryakant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohan to hear the case on Thursday due to the approaching election date.

Mehta said,

“He is accused under IPC Section 302. He has been granted bail for the elections. Can I request a hearing tomorrow? That is all I am saying.” To this, the Chief Justice replied, “Our list is very long tomorrow. We will definitely dismiss it, but on Monday, not tomorrow.”

Mehta reiterated that the High Court had granted Pradhan bail to campaign and contest in the elections. He stated that if there was no immediate hearing on the appeal, its purpose would be defeated. He repeated his request to take up the matter on Thursday, but the Chief Justice clearly stated, “No, Monday.” He again remarked that the court would dismiss the appeal, but on Monday.

Pradhan was arrested on September 18. Just before that, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee had announced her support for him. After a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the Trinamool candidate had withdrawn from the election race. Following this, Mamata announced her support for the Congress candidate.

The six cases registered against Pradhan are nearly 19 years old and are related to the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram. While granting bail on Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court took note of the age of the cases and Pradhan's arrest after filing his nomination for the by-election. After being released from Haldia jail on Wednesday, Pradhan returned to his home in Nandigram, where he was warmly welcomed by local residents and party supporters. After his release, he alleged that he was subjected to severe mental pressure during custody and that the police repeatedly urged him to withdraw his nomination for the by-election. He said, “At one point, I was scared that they might take my life.”

Pradhan claimed that his eyes were covered with a towel. According to him, he was possibly taken to a hotel in Mandarmani, where later a police officer asked him what he wanted in exchange for withdrawing his nomination.

He alleged that,

This question was asked by an IPS officer. Possibly a DSP was also present there. I was alone when the question was asked. I told them that it was not possible for me to do that. I have certain ideologies that I cannot abandon.

Pradhan stated that the people of Nandigram have understood how he was harassed. He claimed that voters would respond to this conspiracy in the elections. According to him, “The BJP government will not be able to stop me by framing false cases. The BJP's chief spokesperson in Bengal, Debjit Sarkar, dismissed Pradhan's allegations as ‘baseless’. He stated that the Congress has no mass base in Nandigram. According to the government, it is absurd to think that the BJP would try to intimidate its candidate through the administration out of fear of a Congress victory.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the police detained two Congress workers—Sukrit Ranjan Biswas and Manik Fakir—from a hotel in Nandigram. Biswas, a resident of North 24 Parganas, works for the rights of the Matua community, while Fakir is a social media influencer. Both were assigned the responsibility of Congress's election campaign.

After their detention, both were taken to Nandigram police station. Biswas was later released, but as of the time of reporting, Fakir remained in custody. Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar condemned the police action, describing it as politically motivated.