The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the West Bengal government in response to a plea filed by Nisith Pramanik, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, seeking anticipatory bail in a 2018 attempted murder case.
A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal instructed senior advocate PS Patwalia, representing Pramanik, to provide a copy of the petition to the state’s counsel. The court scheduled the hearing for Friday.
Pramanik has approached the apex court challenging the January 4 decision of the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court, which denied him anticipatory bail in the aforementioned case. During the brief hearing, Patwalia emphasized Pramanik’s status as a Member of Parliament and expressed concerns about the volatile situation in West Bengal. Patwalia stated, “I may be arrested in this case, kindly grant me protection.”
The bench noted that Pramanik’s plea is still pending before the high court and questioned why he couldn’t pursue the matter there. Patwalia pointed out that the high court had scheduled further hearings for January 22, and without protection, Pramanik might face arrest before then. Initially planning to hear the petition next week, the bench decided to list the matter for January 12.
The attempt-to-murder case against Pramanik dates back to 2018 when he was with the Trinamool Congress, and a group fired on party workers in Cooch Behar district. Pramanik, now with the BJP, contested the arrest warrant issued by a magistrate, emphasizing the need for protection. He had joined the BJP in February 2019, refuting allegations of orchestrating the violence. Pramanik successfully contested the 2019 parliamentary polls on a BJP ticket, securing the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat.
