Narada sting case: Five-judge bench of Calcutta High Court to hear matter today

Kolkata (West Bengal): A five-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday (May 27) will hear the Narada Scam case at 11 am. In its order recently on May 21, the High Court had allowed four TMC leaders, including two sitting ministers, accused in the Narada case, to be granted bail, and to be kept under house arrest. 

It had also referred the bail pleas of these four leaders to be heard by a five-judge bench after the split verdict was passed by the two-Judge bench. 

The four politicians of West Bengal accused in the case are two sitting ministers of Mamata Banerjee-led government -- Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee -- and TMC legislators -- Madan Mitra and former MLA Sovan Chatterjee.

On May 24, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court`s order which allowed the house arrest of four Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders.

In its appeal, filed before the Apex Court, the CBI had sought deferment of the larger Bench hearing, fixed for today before the five-Judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court.

According to the case, the sting operation was conducted by one Narada News in West Bengal, showing around 12 then TMC ministers, leaders and an IPS officer were allegedly caught accepting bribes. The stint operations tapes were released in the case to expose the accused persons before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections. 

In its order in 2017, the Calcutta High Court had directed a preliminary investigation to be conducted by the CBI in the case. It has passed this order after going through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the Narada tapes sting operation case.

The Narada sting operation was conducted by Narada news founder Mathew Samuel for over two years in West Bengal. Conducted allegedly in 2014 for the news magazine Tehelka, it was published on a private news website Narada News months before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The case is related to a sting operation, commonly known as Narada Sting Operation, in which these former public servants were caught on camera while receiving illegal gratification from the Sting Operator, Samuel. 

Last week, four TMC Ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, MLA Madan Mitra and Former Mayor Sovan Chatterjee were arrested by CBI in the Narada scam. 

(With Agency Inputs)