No action can be taken against Nandigram case accused till April 7: HC

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that no action can be taken against the accused in the Nandigram violence case till April 7.

The direction comes five days after the Supreme Court granted ad-interim stay against a Calcutta High Court order which had revived 14-year-old criminal cases against SK Supian who is the Election Agent of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in the ongoing Assembly polls

A Division Bench comprising Justice I.P. Mukerji and Justice Aniruddha Roy, during the hearing, said: "In view of the judgment and order of the Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) Nos. 2669 – 2670 of 2021 in State of West Bengal and Ors. –vs- Dipak Mishra on 26th March, 2021, we direct status quo, as of today, with regard to the applicants before us shall be maintained till 8th April, 2021 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. This public interest litigation is appearing in the list of the regular bench for 5th April, 2021."

In 2011, during the Nandigram movement during the then Left government, criminal cases were filed against Supian, Abu Taher and some others in the area.

Recently, the state government had directed to withdraw the case against the land agitators in Nandigram.

The state's decision was overturned by a public interest litigation in the High Court. Thereafter, the division bench of the High Court directed to reopen the Nandigram land case.