New Delhi: “…..Proceed against them if you wish to,” the Supreme Court gave a virtual green signal to the CBI to initiate action or legal proceeding against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak for their alleged role attempted to subvert the rule of law when prominent Trinamool leaders were arrested.
Trinamool leaders and Mamata’s aides Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee, who had quit Trinamool on eve of elections, were arrested by the CBI in the Narada sting case.
Mamata Banerjee resorted to her antics and rushed to the CBI office on May 17 after her colleagues were arrested and passed ‘derogatory and defamatory comments about the probe agency.
CBI counsel and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on May 25 (Tuesday) that Mamata sat on dharna for six-long-hours, while an unruly mob continued to swell in an organized way, causing obstruction to the functioning of the CBI.
The CBI said a large number of Trinamool Congress workers and supporters laid siege on the CBI building at Nizam Palace in Kolkata and tried to disrupt the process of law.
Justices Vineet Saran and B R Gavai said they did not approve of the conduct of the chief minister (Mamata) and state Law minister (Ghatak) in laying siege to the CBI office.
The bench said, “Why should the accused persons be made to suffer because of a dharna by the chief minister and Law minister?…Proceed against them if you wish to.”
Now it will be for the CBI to take a decision and initiate action against Mamata Banerjee and her Law Minister.
The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered the house arrest of the two Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee and two others Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee in connection with the Narada sting case.
The CBI has also sought transfer of the Narada bribery case over the citing the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ wherein West Bengal Chief Minister sat on a dharna at the CBI office. However, the Supreme Court also wondered who is more in a position to influence the witnesses in the Narada case – those who were chargesheeted or those who have not been.
The five-member bench of the Calcutta High Court would now hear the case.
In the 52-hour footage videographed in 2016, Trinamool leaders Mukul Roy, Sougata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Prasun Bannerjee, Suvendu Adhikari, Aparupa Poddar and Sultan Ahmad (now deceased) and state ministers Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim and Iqbal Ahmed were seen accepting alleged bribes in the form of wads of cash in exchange for extending favours for a non-existent company.
Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari are now in the BJP. In fact, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in the high voltage poll at Nandigram.
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