Kolkata, Sep 28 — The crucial final hearing on the bail plea of Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the forthcoming Nandigram assembly bypoll in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, was postponed on Monday.
Pradhan is currently in judicial custody in connection with two old cases, including a 2007 murder case. The hearing was scheduled before the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh in the second half of the day.
However, Justice Ghosh informed that the final hearing would now take place on Tuesday, after which judgment will be delivered.
During last week’s hearing, Justice Ghosh had observed that Pradhan should be allowed to contest the polls freely like other candidates and even indicated that bail would ultimately be granted. This had raised expectations that Pradhan might be released on Monday to join the campaign.
The bypolls for Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies in Murshidabad district are scheduled for October 6, with results to be declared on October 9.
Pradhan was arrested on September 18, hours after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her Trinamool Congress faction would support the Congress candidate in Nandigram. The announcement followed the dramatic withdrawal of Trinamool’s candidate, Sanchita Dey Pradhan.
The move was seen as a fresh step towards Opposition unity in the state after Banerjee’s defeat in the assembly polls earlier this year.
In those elections, current West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari contested and won simultaneously from Nandigram and Bhabanipur in South Kolkata. He later chose to retain Bhabanipur, necessitating the Nandigram bypoll.