Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

The CBI on Tuesday withdrew from the Supreme Court its plea challenging a Calcutta High Court order allowing house arrest of four TMC leaders, including two West Bengal ministers, in connection with a Narada scam case.

A Vacation Bench of Justice Vineet Sharan and Justice BR Gavai allowed the CBI to withdraw its petition after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the agency would pursue its remedies before a five-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court, which is scheduled to take up the matter on Wednesday.

"All other contentions remain open. The parties shall also have liberty to raise such contentions before the high court," the top court said, clarifying that "We are not passing any order on merits."

The high court had on May 21 ordered the shifting of two ministers, a TMC MLA and former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee to house arrest from jail.

Initially, a special CBI court had granted them interim bail on May 17 within hours of their arrest but it was stayed by the High Court after 10 pm.

Later, a Division Bench of Calcutta High court Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijeet Banerjee delivered a split verdict on the issue of recalling the stay on bail to the four accused. The matter was then referred to a five-judge Bench.

"A Special Bench is assigned to protect liberty. This is for the first time that a Special Bench was assigned to take away liberty," Justice Gavai noted.

West Bengal Transport Minister Firhad Hakim, Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee were arrested by the CBI on May 17 in connection with the Narada sting tape case that is being investigated by the agency on a 2017 order of the high court.

The CBI had sought a transfer of the case from the present court dealing with it, citing a threat to the probe agency on the ground that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, TMC ministers, leaders and workers sat on a dharna outside the probe agency’s office at Nizam palace in Kolkata and caused creating an atmosphere of fear.

The CBI accused the state law minister and his supporters of barging into the special court complex where the bail pleas of the four arrested TMC leaders were heard.