Kolkata:The Calcutta High Court's 5- judge bench on Thursday said it would first hear on Friday the plea by four politicians including two Bengal ministers arrested in the Narada case for recall of an earlier high court order staying their bail, before taking up the CBI's prayer for transfer of the case alleging mob pressure on the lower court which granted them bail.
All the four accused Trinamool Congress leaders and ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, party MLA Madan Mitra and former mayor Sovan Chatterjee who is an ex-TMC leader - are currently under house arrest as per the high court's order.
Adjourning hearing in the Narada sting tape case, the high court said that on Friday, it will first hear the recall applications by the four on the stay granted by a division bench on bail to them.
The five-judge bench said it will then hear the CBI's prayer for transfer of the case to the high court from the Special CBI court which granted bail to the four politicians on May 17, hours after their arrest.
During the day, the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and justices I P Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Arijit Banerjee heard submissions by the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta representing the CBI and senior counsels appearing for the accused persons.
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During the hearing that continued for two hours, Mehta submitted that the proceedings before the special CBI court be nullified, claiming that the process was affected by a dharna by the state's chief minister at the CBI office and the presence of the state law minister on the premises of the court which heard the bail applications by the four.
Appearing for the accused, senior counsels Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sidharth Luthra and Kalyan Banerjee prayed that the recalling applications be heard, maintaining that it concerns the liberty of those arrested.
The CBI had on Tuesday moved a special leave petition (SLP) in connection with the high court's order of May 21 that modified its earlier order of judicial remand to house arrest of the four, but later withdrew it.