Kolkata: Calcutta High Court lawyer and Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi, who was arrested by the Kolkata Police on Saturday morning for making derogatory remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was granted bail by a trial court the same day. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, senior advocate of the Calcutta High Court and appearing as Bagchi’s counsel, argued vehemently on behalf of his client. “Is my client a terrorist? Who gave the right to the police to enter his residence at around 3 am? There is also a direction from the Supreme Court to prevent the police from entering someone’s house early in the morning or late at night. Under Section 41A of CrPC The arrest was made without any notice. It is a violation of the fundamental rights of an individual,” argued Bhattacharya.
He also said that the investigating officer in the matter should be slapped with a show cause notice for issuing notice under section 41A.
Bhattacharya questioned, “We as legal professionals are extremely scared. How can the police barge into a lawyer’s residence in the early hours of the morning in a democratic country? Was that residence of a terrorist.”
The public prosecutor, in his counter-argument, said that some of Bagchi’s comments may have incited violence, which should be probed. The court, after hearing both the sides, granted bail to Bagchi on a personal bond of Rs 1,000.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack against the state Congress after the results of the bypoll to Sagardighi assembly constituency in Murshidabad district were announced on Thursday, in which Left-backed Congress candidate Baron Biswas defeated Trinamool Congress candidate Debasish Bandopadhyay by 23,000 votes. . President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referred to his daughter’s suicide in 2006.
On Friday, Bagchi held a press conference where he referred to a book written by former IAS officer Deepak Kumar Ghosh, which allegedly contains some references about the chief minister’s personal life.
Bagchi said that since Banerjee has started making personal attacks citing the suicide of Chaudhary’s daughter, he will now counter her by circulating a soft copy of Ghosh’s book through WhatsApp.
The arrest drew strong criticism from all corners, including from within the Trinamool Congress.