In late-night development, interim bail of top TMC ministers in Narada case stayed

The Calcutta High Court on Monday night stayed a lower court's decision to grant bail to two TMC ministers and an MLA along with a former party leader, arrested and charge-sheeted by the CBI in the Narada sting tape case.

The central agency moved a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee soon after a special CBI court granted bail to the leaders -- state ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former TMC leader and erstwhile Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee.

The division bench said it deemed it appropriate to stay the special court's order and direct that the "accused person shall be treated to be in judicial custody till further orders".

The court directed that the matter will be heard again on May 19.

The three ministers were arrested by the CBI in connection with the Narada sting operation case on Monday morning, leading to tense moments at the investigative agency's office in Kolkata. They were arrested and produced before a city court, which later granted the four interim bail.

“The judge has granted interim bail to all the four. Initially, the CBI sought police custody but later they said they want jail custody,” said lawyer Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for the arrested leaders.

Also read — Drama unfolds in Bengal: CM Mamata dares CBI to arrest her after top TMC leaders held in Narada case

This was days after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sanctioned prosecution against the four leaders and Mamata's emphatic victory over the BJP in the Assembly polls.

Earlier in the day, the four were detained by the CBI from their homes and taken to its office in Nizam Palace in the presence of a large number of central forces and arrested.

There were dramatic moments as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee landed at the CBI’s office around 10.50 am and asked the CBI to arrest her as well.

TMC leader and advocate Anindya Raut told reporters that the arrests were illegal.

Also read — Narada case: Bengal Guv alleges 'total lawlessness, anarchy' in state

“There was no permission for the arrests from the court and no rules were followed. Hence the chief minister demanded that she too be arrested,” he said.

Mamata left the CBI office after nearly six hours. West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh accused her of “inciting anarchy”.

Tension prevailed when a large number of TMC workers gathered in front of the CBI office and started throwing stones and clashed with the central forces. Protests were held across the state.

In a statement, the CBI said apart from the four, it has received sanction for prosecution against IPS officer and former SP S M H Meerza for “having seen to have received illegal gratification of Rs 5 lakhs”. Meerza was arrested earlier and is currently on bail.

According to the charge sheet, the four along with Meerza have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other sections of the IPC including 109.

Reacting to the news, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the arrests a "vindictive step". After its defeat in the Assembly elections, the BJP’s central leadership instructed the CBI to take the step, he said.

The Narada sting operation was purportedly conducted by journalist Mathew Samuel in 2014. Several TMC Ministers, MPs and MLAs were purportedly seen receiving money for “illegal gratification” from a representative of a fictitious company, the CBI said. The tapes were made public ahead of the Assembly elections in 2016.