Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday admitted the affidavit filed by the West Bengal chief minister in the Narada case but after imposing a penalty of Rs 5,000 on her.
Similarly, the high court also admitted the affidavit of state law minister, Malay Ghatak and the state government as a whole, but only after imposing a penalty of the same amount on both.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the counsel for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and solicitor general Tushar Mehta argued in the court that questions have been raised about the roles of the chief minister and the state law minister on May 17. Mehta also argued that both did not submit affidavits on time in a pre-planned manner.
Read: Narada scam: SC to hear Mamata's plea tomorrow against Calcutta HC's order on filling affidavit
However, Justice Soumen Sen questioned Mehta about why he was objecting to the state government's separate affidavit. He also said the court cannot accept the theory of mass gathering in front of the CBI office at Nizam Place just because the central probe agency has alleged. However, the court was adjourned for the day with the bench holding back the verdict.
A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court is hearing the Narada case since June 9. In the midst of the hearing, the chief minister’s counsel prayed for the submission of an affidavit. However, the bench rejected that on the grounds that accepting the affidavit in the midst of the hearing might steer the case in a different direction.
Chief minister Banerjee challenged that in the Supreme Court, which then directed the Calcutta High Court to accept the affidavit.
