HC div bench: Clarify order on cash return to J’khand MLAs
Times of India | 26 September 2024
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed state govt to seek clarification from a single bench on the return of cash recovered from three Jharkhand Congress MLAs.
In 2022, Rs 85 lakh was seized from a car on NH16 near Panchla and the MLAs were arrested. On the basis of a complaint, a zero FIR was registered in Jharkhand, and later transferred to Bengal.
The MLAs were granted bail by a Calcutta HC division bench in Aug 2022. The bench stated their passports would stay with the trial court.
Jharkhand High Court ordered quashing of the FIR registered in Bengal, leading the state to challenge this in Supreme Court. During this time, the MLAs moved another appeal before a single bench of Calcutta High Court, praying for return of passports and cash. The judge ordered that the cash be returned and said the trio could move the special court for their passports. Bengal then approached the division bench led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam against the single-judge order. It was submitted by the advocate general that the state respondents in their written instructions did not agree with returning the cash.
The HC division bench on Wednesday told state govt to approach the single bench for clarification on the matter. The CJ also sought reconsideration of the single-judge direction allowing the MLAs to move court for their passports.