NEW DELHI: The Calcutta high court on Thursday orally directed the West Bengal government to allow arrested Congress candidate Milan Pradhan to contest the upcoming Nandigram assembly bypoll.Justice Saugata Bhattacharya held that Pradhan would not be treated as “arrested” in the 2007 case for which a lower court remanded him to judicial custody until October 7.Pradhan had challenged his arrest in the case, which was not among the 11 cases mentioned before the high court on September 22. The court noted that the state had produced no document showing that a production warrant had been served on the Congress candidate.“It is surprising to note that the said criminal prosecution is of 2007 and the investigating officer made a prayer for treating the petitioner as ‘shown arrest’ on September 19,” the court observed.On September 22 too, the bench had orally asked the West Bengal government to allow Pradhan to contest the Nandigram bypoll, subject to his securing bail in the five cases in which he had been arrested.The court noted that Pradhan was shown “arrested” in the Khejuri police station case after the September 22 hearing.Justice Bhattacharyya directed the police not to take any steps against Pradhan until October 12 in case number 45 of 2007 at Khejuri police station in Purba Medinipur district and ordered that he not be treated as arrested in the case.The court questioned why Pradhan had been arraigned in another case after the state had told it that he was not wanted in any other case.Pradhan’s counsel Ayan Bhattacharjee told the bench he was “unaware” of the Khejuri case and that the prosecution had not disclosed the production warrant to the high court.Additional advocate general Rajdeep Majumdar, appearing for the state, said the Contai ACJM court had issued the warrant on September 19. Pradhan faces charges including murder and attempt to murder in the case.The cases against Pradhan stem from protests against land acquisition by the then Left Front government in Nandigram and Khejuri in 2007. Police said the pending cases include charges of murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, rioting with arms and offences under the Arms Act.
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He has filed bail applications in four cases.Pradhan was arrested on September 18, hours after Mamata Banerjee announced that her Trinamool Congress faction would support him after its candidate, Sanchita Pradhan De, withdrew from the Nandigram contest.The Nandigram seat fell vacant after West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari retained Bhabanipur, Mamata Banerjee’s erstwhile stronghold. The bypoll will be held on October 6, with counting on October 9.(With PTI inputs)