The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the October 6 by-poll for the Nandigram assembly constituency, till October 20.
The single bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh approved his interim bail against two personal bonds of Rs 10,000 and categorically observed that the bail had been granted to ensure that he could contest the bypoll freely like other candidates and take part in the campaign process.
However, Pradhan has been directed to deposit his mobile phone at the police station, and he must surrender on October 21 before the Haldia Sub-Divisional Court.
The court directed that the Investigating Officer (IO) must call the Congress candidate daily —between 8:30 am and 10:00 am, and again between 9:30 pm and 10:30 pm — to check on his status.
A total of six cases were filed against Pradhan in 2007 — two in the Contai (Kanthi) and four in the Haldia — on murder charges. Following his arrest in September, a lower court had ordered his judicial custody until October 7.
When Pradhan challenged the order at the Calcutta High Court, Justice Ghosh noted that he was arrested after filing the nomination papers and the state had failed to demonstrate whether he had been arrested in any of the cases since 2007.
During the hearing, Pradhan’s lawyer Milan Mukherjee argued that his client be allowed to participate in the election. “Let him participate in the election. When the ACJM, Contai, issued the initial order in this case on April 6, there was no warrant against Pradhan. Political motives are evident here. We are seeking interim bail so that he can contest the election. The court has previously granted bail to Rakesh Singh and Arvind Kejriwal for election purposes,” he stated.
State additional advocate general Rajdeep Majumdar said an individual cannot seek relief merely on the pretext of participating in an election. “The Chief Justice’s bench has ruled that such an opportunity cannot be availed of in this manner,” he added.
In counter, Mukherjee said, “The Chief Justice directed that the application be moved before the bench hearing bail matters. This is a fit case for granting bail.”
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Ghosh asked the state counsel what evidence or documents he had and how many accused were there.
Majumdar informed the court that there were a total of 18 accused in the case. The judge then asked, “How many arrest warrants has the state executed following the division bench’s order on February 10, 2025? When did the police resume active measures?”
In response, Majumder stated, “One person was arrested in July, followed by the arrest of Pradhan. There is no mandatory requirement to release a candidate from jail to contest an election. If released, the candidate might meet with locals and potentially tamper with evidence,” he added.
Mekherjee argued that the interim bail was being sought only for the upcoming election, as he was arrested immediately after filing his nomination. “Bail should be granted at least until October 12 so that Pradhan can be present in his constituency for campaigning and on the day of polling,” he added.
Accepting his plea, Justice Ghosh granted the interim bail. The same bench will hear the matter again on October 21, a day after the term of the current interim bail expires.
Pradhan was arrested on September 18, hours after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her Trinamool Congress faction would support the Congress candidate in the Nandigram bypoll. The announcement followed the dramatic withdrawal of Trinamool’s candidate, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, from the election.
The move was seen as a fresh step towards Opposition unity in the state after Trinamool’s defeat in the Assembly polls earlier this year.
In those elections, incumbent Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari contested and won simultaneously from Nandigram and Bhabanipur in South Kolkata. He later chose to retain Bhabanipur, necessitating the Nandigram bypoll.
