Supreme Court spares Abhishek Banerjee aide Sumit Roy from arrest
The Supreme Court has given Sumit Roy, personal secretary to Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, a break from arrest in a land fraud case.
The court's order means Roy will not be taken into custody yet, but he does have to cooperate with the police investigation tied to a 2026 FIR in West Bengal.
Roy must furnish bail bonds
Roy cannot be arrested until at least August 14, subject to him furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the investigating officer, when the next hearing is scheduled.
But there are strings attached: he has to show up for questioning between 10am and 6pm and he cannot bring lawyers or friends along.
The case says Roy's name figured during the questioning of former Trinamool Congress legislator Sujoy Hazra in connection with the sale of large tracts of government land in Salboni on the basis of fabricated documents.
The court wants to keep an eye on whether Roy follows these rules before making any final decisions.