Narada case: CBI submits counter affidavit

KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday submitted a counter affidavit in connection with the Narada tape case to the Calcutta High Court. The state government sought time to file another counter affidavit.

The next hearing is on August 16.

The CBI had made Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and state Law minister Moloy Ghatak parties to the Narada case.

The agency claimed that the duo had influenced the operation and the CBI court's verdict by visiting the Nizam Palace office when two Cabinet ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee along with Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee were arrested on May 17.

Kalyan Banerjee, defense counsel, argued that he went to Nizam Palace as a senior lawyer.

A five- judge bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice IP Mukerji, Justice Harish Tandon, Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Arijit Mukherjee, is now hearing the Narada tape case.