LIVE UPDATES - Narada Case Hearing : Calcutta High Court Orders House Arrest of TMC Leaders
Bandopadhyaya says the registry had "mutated" him in the VC session earlier.
Solicitor General(smiling) : Muted. Not mutated. Mutated means different thing now in present context. You are not a virus.
Bandopadhyaya : Justice must be rooted in public confidence. An example needs to be set (by constituting larger bench today itself). The whole country is watching the case. Signals must go everywhere.
Bandopadhyaya : This Court accepted CBI's request to hear the matter at 5.30 PM on May 17. Am I not entitled to make a similar request? I request, sit at today 2 PM.
SG interrupts. Bandhopadhyaya raises voice - "Is only the Solicitor entitled to make submissions?"
Bandopadhyaya suggests larger bench hears the matter today at 2 PM itself, in the same spirit the Court took up the CBI's urgent plea on May 17 at 5.30 PM.
Constitution of larger bench is an administrative matter, which will not take much time, he adds.
Solicitor General interrupts. Bandopadhyaya takes serious objection.
"I did not interrupt when Solicitor was submitting. Does the office of Solicitor General entitle him to make interruptions. Am I not entitled to make submissions?", he says.
Senior Adv Kalyan Bandopadhyaya making submissions now.
Since the Court took up the prayer of CBI on May 17 at 5.30 PM urgently and order was passed at 11 PM, he says the larger bench be also constituted in a similar urgent fashion, he says.
Singvhi and Luthra say " we will leave it to your lordships".
Singhvi says appropriate arrangements be made considering the fact that two of them are Ministers and one is an MLA. They be given access to files, he says.
Luthra says CBI case is a "house of cards" which will fall down in no time.
Solicitor General objects : If it is a "house of cards" it should fall in a judicial order. Not with ministers protesting. That is pure hooliganism.
Singhvi : I am between a rock and a heart place. The matter must go on constituting the larger bench at the earliest.
Justice Banerjee : At the cost of repetition, I'm saying. One of us thought interim bail should be granted. The other member disagreed. So, the matter has to go to larger bench. In the meantime, we thought let the accused be in the comfort of their homes. This is not final.
Singhvi says he made the interim bail plea at 4.30 on Wednesday, when the court was about to rise. Arguments were not complete. Luthra was to make arguments.
Acting CJ Bindal : Mr.Singhvi and Mr.Luthra, what is the position now? You do not want interim bail?
Singhvi says he is prepared to withdraw the interim plea if it only leads to house-arrest.
Luthra also requests for constitution of larger bench at the earliest having regard to the issue of personal liberty and abuse of process by CBI.
Singhvi says that the accused cannot be kept in custody just because Solicitor General wants to file an SLP against the order.