The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, while directing him to join and cooperate with the ongoing investigation in a criminal case.
Appearing for Roy, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that the FIR had been registered years after the alleged transactions and only after the declaration of elections. He informed the Court that the petitioner had already been granted anticipatory bail in another connected matter and was required to join that investigation within ten days. Seeking similar protection in the present case, he assured the Bench that Roy would cooperate with both investigations.
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“All these FIRs were registered after the election declaration. I have been granted anticipatory bail in another matter and I have to join investigation within ten days. If I am given protection here, I can join in both. I want to join in both. Whatever conditions Your Lordships want to impose, any conditions.”
Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the investigating agency required custodial interrogation and alleged that previous attempts to arrest the petitioner had been thwarted because of political interference.
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“Once we went to arrest him and the then Chief Minister intervened. She always intervenes whenever a law-enforcing agency goes. I want to place it on record. The political climate has changed. The power to influence investigation is now considerably reduced. But the matter of serious concern is that whenever a person accused of a serious crime is proceeded against, the leader, the then Chief Minister and now former Chief Minister, comes and interrupts and obstructs the law-enforcing agencies. As the highest Court of the country, Your Lordships will have to examine this.”
The Solicitor General further urged that Roy should not be accompanied by anyone other than his advocate while appearing before the investigating agency, adding that “there are no VIPs.”
After hearing both sides, the Bench granted interim protection but made it clear that the petitioner must fully cooperate with the investigation. The Court directed Roy to remain available to the investigating agency whenever required and observed that he should not claim any special privilege during the investigation.
Passing the interim order, the Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana directed that the petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation and ordered that his arrest shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing, while leaving it open to the investigating agency to seek further orders depending on the progress of the probe.
