Mukul Roy pleads own case, court extends interim order barring arrest till April 23

The Calcutta High Court today extended till April 23 its interim order barring the police from arresting BJP leader Mukul Roy in connection with the death of a man in 2015.

Owing to an ongoing ceasework by lawyers at the high court, Roy moved his own prayer before a division bench comprising justices Joymalyo Bagchi and R K Kapoor.

Neither Roy's counsels nor the lawyers representing the state were present in the court owing to the ceasework.

The court extended the interim order till April 23, directing the West Bengal Police not to arrest Roy in connection with the death of Mrinal Kanti Singha Roy till then or until further orders.

The matter will be heard again before the division bench on April 16.

The court had earlier extended the interim order on a plea by the state police seeking time to find the documents related to the treatment and death of Singha Roy, who is considered to be a mentor of the BJP leader during his initial days in politics.

Roy, who was a top Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader before joining the BJP, had earlier been directed by the court to cooperate in the probe by the state police and appear before the investigating officer as and when asked. The bench had, on January 30, directed the state to produce all the medical records relating to the treatment of Singha Roy.

Singha Roy had allegedly suffered a road accident around midnight on June 8, 2011, while returning home at Kanchrapara from Halisahar in North 24 Parganas district. He was treated at a local nursing home and then shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata.

His sister Sonali Kundu had alleged that Singha Roy was made to stay in a lodge under Roy's supervision after his release from the Kolkata hospital. During his stay there, Singha Roy suffered a throat infection and died after a prolonged treatment at a city hospital in January 2015, Kundu had said in her complaint.

She had also claimed that she found out from the hospital that Singha Roy had suffered an internal haemorrhage and expressed suspicion regarding the role of the BJP leader in the matter.

The lawyers representing Kundu told the court that her attempts to lodge a police complaint had failed and she was forced to move the local court, which then directed the police to file an FIR. Challenging the FIR, Roy had moved the high court, seeking anticipatory bail.