The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from coercive action to Aroop Biswas, the former sports minister of West Bengal, in a case involving crowd chaos at a Salt Lake Stadium event featuring Lionel Messi.
Court Imposes Travel Restrictions
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed Biswas, who had previously ignored two police summonses for questioning, not to leave his station without prior judicial clearance. The court also ordered the former minister to surrender his passport to the trial court within seven days. Under the interim order, Biswas must appear before the investigating agency when summoned, provided he is served a notice at least 48 hours in advance.
Stadium Event Under Scrutiny
The investigation stems from chaos during a December event at Salt Lake Stadium, which forced football star Lionel Messi to leave the venue. During the hearing, Justice Bhattacharyya noted that the incident was a matter of shame. The court pointed out that there was an excessive number of people on the ground during the event and observed that Biswas held the sports portfolio at the time.
The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for the case on August 4.
