4 hrs ago
Two Calcutta High Court Benches Back Arrested Nandigram Candidate
Milan Pradhan is the Congress candidate in a Nandigram by-election.
He was arrested in old cases connected to protests from 2007.
Police later linked him to a sixth case from that year.
His lawyer said this happened unfairly after the government had promised there would be no more arrests.
The government said the sixth arrest happened before the court heard the promise.
Two High Court judges said Pradhan should be allowed to run in the election.
The court asked for records in four cases where he requested bail.
It also temporarily stopped police action in the sixth case.
The election is scheduled for October 6.
Two Calcutta High Court benches said Congress candidate Milan Pradhan should be allowed to contest the October 6 Nandigram by-election.
Pradhan was arrested on September 18 in a 2007 case and later shown arrested in four other cases.
His lawyer alleged he was implicated in a sixth 2007 case despite the state’s earlier assurance that no further arrest would occur.
The state said Pradhan had been arrested in the sixth case before Tuesday’s hearing under a production warrant.
The court barred police from taking coercive action in the sixth case until October 12 and said Pradhan should not be treated as arrested in it.
- Who
- Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, the West Bengal government, police authorities, and two Calcutta High Court benches.
- What
- The High Court expressed the view that Pradhan should be allowed to contest the Nandigram by-election and temporarily barred coercive action in a sixth 2007 case.
- Where
- The proceedings took place before the Calcutta High Court, concerning cases registered in Nandigram and Khejuri, West Bengal.
- When
- The latest observations were made on September 24; the by-election is scheduled for October 6, with campaigning ending October 4.
- Why
- The cases relate to protests against a proposed chemical hub during the 2007 anti-land-acquisition movement; the immediate dispute concerns the timing and legality of Pradhan’s sixth-case arrest.
Pradhan’s Counsel and Court Concerns
West Bengal Government’s Account
Whether the sixth arrest violated the earlier assurance
Pradhan’s Counsel and Court Concerns
Pradhan’s counsel alleged that he was brazenly implicated and remanded in another case despite the state’s earlier assurance that he would not be arrested in another 2007 case.
West Bengal Government’s Account
The state said the arrest had already taken place before Tuesday’s hearing and that a production warrant was issued because Pradhan was already in custody.
Consistency of the state’s case information
Pradhan’s Counsel and Court Concerns
The court noted that the state had previously described the five cases in which Pradhan was in custody as the only active matters against him.
West Bengal Government’s Account
The state relied on a Tuesday report and an additional chief judicial magistrate’s order to support its account, though the court noted that the report had not been submitted when its earlier order was passed.
Pradhan’s eligibility to contest
Pradhan’s Counsel and Court Concerns
The two High Court benches expressed the view that Pradhan should be permitted to contest the October 6 election while his bail matters were being heard.
West Bengal Government’s Account
The government was asked to clarify its position on the issue; the reports do not state that it accepted the judges’ view.
Key facts
- Candidate
- Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram by-election
- Election date
- October 6
- Initial arrest
- September 18, in connection with a 2007 criminal case
- Arrests reported
- The sixth 2007 case in which Pradhan has been arrested, according to the report
- Court protection
- Police were directed not to take coercive action in the sixth case until October 12
- Judicial custody
- Pradhan was in custody in connection with multiple 2007 cases
- 2007 violence
- Fourteen people were killed in police firing during the Nandigram land-acquisition protests
Quotes
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya
Calcutta High Court judge hearing Milan Pradhan’s petition
“It is surprising to note that the said criminal prosecution is of 2007, and the investigating officer made a prayer for treating the petitioner as ‘shown arrest’ on September 19, 2026,”
theprint.in
Sources
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