Calcutta HC tells Bengal govt to let Cong candidate contest Nandigram by-poll

• Calcutta High Court orally directed the state to allow jailed Congress candidate Milan Pradhan to contest the 6 October Nandigram bypoll and indicated interim bail.

• A separate high court bench questioned his arrest in another 2007 case and ordered protection from further police action in that matter until 12 October.

• Pradhan's wife Arpita appealed to Mamata Banerjee and political workers for support, alleging that his arrest was politically motivated.

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday, 24 September directed the West Bengal government to allow Congress candidate Milan Pradhan to contest the 6 October Nandigram by-election, with the court also granting him interim relief in a 2007 case.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh orally observed that Pradhan should be allowed to participate in the election and said, "Allow Milan Pradhan to contest the election. I am giving him interim bail so that he can take part in the election. The remaining matter will depend on the case lying with the court."

The court's intervention came a day after a Contai court remanded Pradhan to judicial custody until 7 October in another case dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition movement — a custody period that would have extended beyond polling day. A further hearing on the bail matter is scheduled for Friday at 4.00 pm.

Another bench of the high court, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, also directed that Pradhan would not be treated as arrested in a separate 2007 case and ordered that police take no further action against him in that matter until 12 October. The bench questioned why he had been shown as arrested in the case after the state had earlier disclosed five pending cases before the court.

The legal developments came as Pradhan's wife Arpita Pradhan made an emotional appeal to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and political workers to stand by her family and help her campaign in his absence.

Speaking at West Bengal Congress HQ Bidhan Bhavan on Thursday, Arpita broke down several times while describing the difficulties faced by the family. She alleged that her husband's arrest was politically motivated and had deprived him of the opportunity to campaign for the bypoll.

"My husband has been with the Congress since his student days. Many of his friends left the party for other groups because of money and other benefits, but he stayed with the Congress because of his love for the party. That is why Congress made him its candidate in Nandigram," she said.

Arpita directly blamed BJP leader and chief minister Suvendu Adhikari for the arrest.

"Suvendu Adhikari had my husband arrested. This case goes back to 2007 and the land-acquisition movement. Milan is a son of Nandigram and took part in that movement. Adhikari was also part of that movement. Today he is moving around freely, so why is my husband in jail?" she said.

She said she would now campaign on her husband's behalf and appealed to political workers to support her. "I am stepping forward to fight for him. I want everyone to stand with me. This fight cannot be fought alone; it needs everyone's support," she said.

Arpita also invoked Mamata Banerjee's decision to support Milan after the Trinamool Congress candidate withdrew from the contest. "Mamata Banerjee herself has said, 'I stand with Milan Pradhan.' That is why I am asking for her help," she said.

Her appeal turned personal as she spoke about the impact of the arrest on the family.

"He has been detained in a false case. His elderly parents are at home. Our daughter is crying and cannot concentrate on her studies. The entire family depends on him," she said. "I want my husband released as soon as possible. He has committed no offence. If someone is punished for wrongdoing, what punishment should those who falsely detained my husband face?"

She also thanked the courts and the lawyers representing Pradhan, as well as Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Congress workers.

The timing of Pradhan's arrest has become a major political issue. Mamata Banerjee announced support for him after her party's Nandigram nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the contest. Pradhan was subsequently arrested in connection with old cases linked to the 2007 agitation.

Police have said the action was based on pending non-bailable warrants in cases involving allegations including murder, attempt to murder, abduction, rioting and other offences. The state has maintained that the cases were being pursued as part of the legal process, while Congress and Trinamool leaders have questioned the timing of the arrests.

Mamata's faction of the Trinamool Congress has also extended political support to Pradhan. MLA Kunal Ghosh said, "I have heard Milan Pradhan's wife thanking Mamata didi and Rahul Gandhi and seeking their support. Didi has already extended her support to Milan Pradhan. We will be there to fully support her in her fight for Nandigram."

Congress leaders have questioned why the old cases were revived close to the bypoll. State Congress Working Committee member Prakash Joshi alleged that the government had earlier indicated that the 2007 case would be withdrawn before it was revived. "Milan is being targeted because he is the Congress candidate," he claimed.