CBI defends Mamata's poll agent's pre-arrest bail plea, SC reserves judgment

S.K. Supiyan, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's election agent, asked the Supreme Court on Friday for pre-arrest bail in a murder case being investigated by the CBI.

Judges L. Nageswara Rao and Abhay S. Oka reserved judgment after hearing Supiyan's appeal against a Calcutta High Court order refusing to hear his bail plea. Last month, the top court had granted him interim protection from arrest in the matter.

In this matter, the top court granted him interim protection from arrest last month.

As part of its affidavit opposing Supiyan's pre-arrest bail plea, the CBI alleged that he had hatched a criminal conspiracy to teach a lesson to Hindus who voted for the BJP, resulting in Bannerjee's election defeat in Nandigram Assembly constituency. According to the agency, Supiyan allegedly killed Debabrata Maity after carrying out violent attacks on local villagers.

The affidavit stated: "As per the records of the investigations conducted so far, all of this was done by the petitioner to send a political message that any political opposition would be punished with death, grievous injuries and with extreme mental trauma. It is submitted that the aforesaid acts of commission constitute heinous offences against the society and destroys the very fabric of the body polity of the state."

In his defense, Kapil Sibal, a senior advocate, asserted that Supiyan's name was not mentioned in the FIR or the complaint filed by the authorities in May last year, and that he had not been named in the charge sheets filed by the CBI.

As Sibal pointed out, the witness who named his client was not even on the list of witnesses and has given a totally different picture of the incident than that given by the other witnesses. As a result, he argued that this witness was planted, proving that authorities had completely misled the court.

However, Aman Lekhi, representing the CBI, submitted that Supiyan has been evading the investigation following several notices to appear before the investigation authorities. As far as he was concerned, he had not cooperated with the investigation.

Balerjee had lost to Suvendu Adhikari, a former aide and now candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following the announcement of election results, the Calcutta High Court has ordered a probe by the CBI into various cases of killings and sexual assault in the state.