The Calcutta High Court on Thursday cancelled the bail of Madan Mitra, accused in multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam and asked him to surrender.
In persuance with the HC’s order former West Bengal Minister surrendered in Alipore court on late Thursday evening and was remanded to judicial custody.
Mitra was granted bail by a lower court on October 31 raising a hue and cry regarding the way he was set free by a vacation judge without going through the case diary and ignoring a previous
High Court order rejecting his bail application.
The move by Mitra to resign from his ministerial post late on Wednesday evening also failed to come to his rescue.
The High Court while rejecting his bail in August had taken cognisance of the evidences collected by the CBI against him as well as his social and political leverage that brought even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the street to protest against his arrest. Consequently the High Court had ruled that his bail plea could be taken up for hearing if only the material conditions changed.
Wondering as to why the bail was granted by the lower court without going through the case diary which was a procedural prerequisite in such cases and whether there was a change in the condition from when the bail was rejected on the earlier occasion the Division Bench of Justice Nishita Mhatre and Tapas Mukherjee cancelled Mitra’s bail and directed him to surrender immediately before the CJM Court.
“I have nothing to say about the order. My lawyers will tell it all” he said adding his resignation had
already been accepted by
the Chief Minister on Wednesday evening.
Mitra’s bail was considered as a huge blow for the Trinamool Congress -- before the Assembly elections scheduled for early next year --- for two reasons inside sources said. “First the party will suffer morally during the
campaign and more importantly it will give further
impetus to factional feud in the Trinamool.”
Mitra a Trade Union leader of consequence, was livid with the Chief Minister sources said, adding he had expressed his displeasure against top leadership about the way he was utilised and cast off in the chit fund case much like another Trinamool leader and MP Kunal Ghosh. The former Minister was however reluctant to make his grudge public for the fear of earning the Chief Minister’s wrath and losing the facilities he was given while in jail.
Mitra’s displeasure could have a bearing on a number of seats particularly if he was disallowed a ticket in the elections sources said.
Soon after his bail was cancelled the Trinamool leader appealed to the
Court to allow him the hospitality of a hospital on health grounds. He had spent 10 out of 11 months in the presidential cabin of the Woodburn Ward of the State-owned SSKM Hospital.