No Hearing In Narada Case Today As Calcutta High Court Suspends Judicial Proceedings Citing 'Yaas' Cyclone

The crucial hearing in the Narada case related to the bail of four Trinamool Congress leaders arrested by the CBI will not take place in the Calcutta High Court today as the Court has suspended today's judicial proceedings in view of the 'Yaas' cyclone.

A notice issued by the High Court said :

"Keeping in view the report of the Meteorological Department on the cyclone 'Yaas', which is likely to cause widespread damage and heavy rainfall, as a precautionary measure, all electronic gadgets and devices for E-Connectivity of the Court shall remain shut.

The Government has intimated the Registrar General that it might not be possible for it to provide transport facilities to the employees of this Court on 26th May, 2021 and 27th May, 2021.

Consequently, the judicial proceedings fixed tomorrow are suspended".

A 5-judge bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal was slated to hear at 11 AM today the case. The arrested TMC leaders, two of them Ministers in the newly elected Mamata Banerjee-led government, and one of them an MLA, have been under judicial custody since May 17. On May 19, a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee had allowed them to be placed under house arrest, after the judges delivered a split verdict on grant of interim-bail to them.

The CBI had approached the Supreme Court yesterday challenging the order allowing house arrest. However, after adverse observations from the Supreme Court, the central agency chose to withdraw its petition from the Supreme Court.

On May 17, the Division Bench had stayed the bail granted by the Special CBI Court at Kokata to four Trinamool Congress leaders - Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Sovan Chatterjee - who were arrested dramatically by CBI on May 17.

The bench passed the stay order after a dramatic late-night hearing held on the basis of a letter sent by the CBI seeking transfer of the case to the High Court citing "unprecedented mob pressure" exerted on the lower court by the mass protests led by Chief Minister and the Law Minister against the arrests of the TMC leaders.