Calcutta HC grants interim bail to Congress Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll, in connection with a case linked to the 2007 Nandigram agitation. Mr. Pradhan was arrested on September 18 over a First Information Report filed 19 years ago.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, while granting relief, observed that the Congress leader was taken into custody only after he had filed his nomination papers, and that the cases against him arose from the 2007 agitation. The court also noted that the incident underlying the cases had been investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Describing Mr. Pradhan as a political activist who took part in the 2007 movement and has remained a political worker since, the judge granted him interim bail in all the cases registered against him until October 20. He will have to surrender before a district court after that date.

The State opposed the plea, arguing that the cases involved allegations of murder and that coercive processes, including warrants, had been issued. Counsel for Mr. Pradhan countered that his client was arrested after announcing his candidature and that the State had not placed any material before the court showing his role in the alleged offences.

The bypoll is scheduled for October 6. The arrest came hours after former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended her support to Mr. Pradhan, following the withdrawal of the candidate of her Mamata All India Trinamool Congress from the contest. With Mr. Pradhan in custody, his wife and local Congress leaders have been campaigning in the constituency. West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar welcomed the High Court order, describing it as a victory of truth.

The Nandigram seat in Purba Medinipur fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won from both Bhabanipur and Nandigram in the Assembly polls, resigned as a legislator from Nandigram. The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Chandranath Rath, a former aide of Mr. Adhikari who was killed on May 6. The contest is seen as a prestige battle for Mr. Adhikari, who represented the seat from 2021 to 2026, when he was Leader of the Opposition.

The High Court also granted relief to Ms. Rath in a case challenging a discrepancy in her election affidavit. The court set aside the matter, in which the date of her matriculation qualification preceded her date of birth.