Didn’t get necessary permission to probe Suvendu Adhikari, Mukul Roy: CBI chargesheet in Narada case

In a chargesheet filed just before the arrest of four Trinamool Congress leaders in the Narada bribery case on May 17, the Central Bureau of Investigation had mentioned that it did not get the necessary permission to start investigation against other accused like Suvendu Adhikari, Mukul Roy, Kakali Ghosh Dastidar and Sougata Roy.

The central probe agency, which filed the chargesheet before the Judge of Special CBI court, had arrested ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay in the bribery case.

The CBI told the court that since the crime took place in 2014 when Adhikari and Mukul Roy, along with other accused like TMC leaders Kakali Ghosh Dastidar and Sougata Roy, were Members of Parliament, it did not get necessary sanction for prosecution from a competent authority. That’s why it failed to file a chargesheet against them, the CBI told the court.

The other accused who were arrested on May 17 were Members of the Legislative Assembly then. The CBI got sanction for prosecution from Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar for Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee, and Shovan Chatterjee and they filed chargesheet against them.

On Monday, the special CBI court granted bail to all four leaders. However, the Calcutta High Court stayed the bail after the CBI challenged the order. A division bench said that they shall be treated to be in “judicial custody till further orders”.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, other TMC leaders, and supporters had staged a protest at the CBI office in Kolkata following the arrest of the four.

The TMC has slammed the CBI for not arresting Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy, who switched to the BJP ahead of assembly elections in the state.