CALCUTTA HC STAYS ACTION AGAINST MILAN PRADHAN, SAYS HE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONTEST

September 24, 2026

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Bengal Police not to take further action against Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in a 2007 criminal case until October 12 and orally asked the state to allow him to contest the Nandigram Assembly bypoll.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said Pradhan would not be treated as arrested in the particular case registered at Khejuri police station. The court questioned why he had been shown arrested in the case when the state had informed it during an earlier hearing that he was not wanted in one of the cases cited by him.

The court also noted that the case dates back to 2007 and questioned the timing of the investigating officer’s request to show Pradhan as arrested on September 19. The state said a production warrant had been issued by the Contai court in connection with the case, which includes allegations of murder and attempt to murder.

Pradhan is already in judicial custody in five other cases linked to the 2007 Nandigram-Khejuri violence and has sought bail in those matters. The Nandigram bypoll is scheduled for October 6, with campaigning ending on October 4. The latest High Court direction comes as Pradhan’s legal team challenges the circumstances under which he was taken into custody in the additional case.