Calcutta High Court Quashes Relief For Congress Nandigram Bypoll Candidate Milan Pradhan, Restores Custody

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside a single-bench order that had given Congress’ Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan protection from coercive action in a 2007 criminal case.

The bench was headed by Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and also included Justice Om Narayan Rai. It said criminal law has no provision for interim protection of that kind, adding that an accused may seek bail after arrest and, if arrest is feared, anticipatory bail.

With that order overturned, Pradhan’s judicial remand till October 7, granted by the Contai ACJM Court, will remain in force. The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6, and campaigning ends on October 4.

No Special Protection

The bench rejected the basis of the earlier relief.

It held that criminal law does not provide for such interim protection to an accused. The judges said an accused who has been arrested can seek bail, while a person anticipating arrest can apply for anticipatory bail.

The division bench also made clear that contesting an election does not create a separate legal standard. It observed that the law is the same for everyone and that there cannot be different consideration for a person contesting an election.

That reasoning directly cut against the earlier order, which had temporarily restrained the police from acting against Pradhan in the old case. Friday’s ruling therefore revived the custody order already passed by the lower court.

Thursday’s Interim Order

The earlier relief had come on Thursday. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya had ordered police not to take any step against Pradhan until October 12 in Case No. 45 of 2007 at Khejuri police station in Purba Medinipur district. The court also said he should not be treated as arrested in that case.

While passing that order, Justice Bhattacharyya referred to the age of the prosecution and the timing of the police move. “It is surprising to note that the criminal prosecution is of 2007 and the investigating officer made a prayer for treating the petitioner as 'shown arrest' on September 19,” Justice Bhattacharyya observed.

That order is the one the division bench set aside on Friday. Its reversal removed the temporary restraint on the police and the protection against Pradhan being treated as arrested in the case.

Arrest And Remand

Pradhan was arrested on September 18.

Purba Medinipur district police arrested him on that day and later showed him arrested in connection with the Khejuri police station case. The sequence became central to his challenge before the High Court after he sought protection from coercive action.

On September 23, the Contai court remanded him to judicial custody till October 7. That remand now continues after the division bench set aside the single-bench order.

The timing matters politically. The custody period runs almost up to the October 6 Nandigram bypoll, with campaigning scheduled to close on October 4.

2007 Case Background

Pradhan faces charges, including murder and attempt to murder, in the 2007 case linked to the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram. Several criminal cases were registered against him in 2007 at the Nandigram and Khejuri police stations in Purba Medinipur district.

In a separate hearing on September 22, while the High Court was considering Pradhan’s plea for protection from coercive action in six other cases, the State told the court that five of them had been withdrawn by the previous government. It also said he was not wanted in the sixth case.

The High Court was also told that Pradhan had been arrested and sent to judicial remand in connection with the other five criminal cases. That broader set of cases formed part of the backdrop to the litigation over his protection plea and arrest status.