Kolkata, May 21 (IANS) Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted temporary relief to Paresh Ram Das, Trinamool Congress MLA from Canning Paschim constituency in South 24 Parganas district. The MLA had approached the High Court seeking protection from arrest in the wake of several criminal cases filed against him.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya on Thursday ordered that the police will not be able to take any action against the MLA till June 30.

However, at the same time, the court also ordered that the investigation process that was going on against the MLA would remain in place.

Not only that, the MLA will have to provide all possible cooperation to the police for the sake of the investigation. If the MLA refrains from giving any cooperation, then the state can draw the attention of the court. This has also been mentioned in the court order.

The state claimed that there are multiple allegations against this Trinamool leader, including land grabbing, in Canning area.

In a counter-argument, Paresh Ram claimed in the court that one false case after another has been framed against him with political motives.

The court observed that the FIRs filed against the MLA were dated May 16. By that time, the state had undergone a political change. One of those FIRs was filed in the wake of an incident last April and the remaining FIRs were filed in the wake of an incident in 2021.

After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the High Court observed that the FIRs filed against MLA Paresh Ram are still at a very early stage. There is no situation to take any final decision in a hurry. Considering the overall aspect, the High Court has given relief to the MLA for now.

It may be noted that since the BJP formed a government in West Bengal after winning the Assembly elections, there has been a crackdown on illegal and criminal activities. The police have been active in taking action against anti-social elements and is often acting against Trinamool Congress leaders against whom allegations of breaking the law were raised.

–IANS

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