No coercive action against Samuel during pendency of petition

The West Bengal government today told the Calcutta High Court no coercive action would be taken against Narada News editor Mathew Samuel during pendency of a petition seeking probe into the news portal's sting operation purportedly showing Trinamool Congress leaders accepting money.
Advocate General Jayanta Mitra told a division bench presided over by acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre that the state government would not take any coercive action against Samuel till the petition was heard by the court.
Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Bikash Bhattacharya submitted that as the sting tapes, except for a few which could not be opened owing to technical glitches, had been found to be untampered by Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Chandigarh, an investigation be ordered into the issue of alleged acceptance of gratification by the persons seen in the tapes.

The high court had sent the tapes to CFSL Chandigarh for testing the genuinness of the recordings, following which a report had been submitted by it to the court.
Bhattacharya prayed for an investigation by an independent agency as public interest was involved in the matter.
The bench adjourned the matter for the day and directed that the matter be taken up for hearing again on January five.