The Calcutta High Court is scheduled to hold a final hearing on July 2 to address a legal challenge against the interim protection granted to West Bengal’s former sports minister, Aroop Biswas. The underlying case involves allegations of chaos during a December event featuring soccer star Lionel Messi at Salt Lake Stadium.
Preliminary Hearing Adjourned
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee scheduled the July date following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. The bench adjourned the proceedings after receiving a joint request from both legal teams.
Defense Questions Complainant’s Standing
The appeal was filed by Satadru Dutta, the complainant in the original case, who is seeking to overturn the protection order and is contesting its overall legality. During Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney representing Biswas argued that Dutta, as the de facto complainant, lacks the legal standing to challenge protection granted by a court of law.
Background Of The Protection Order
The dispute centers on a June 10 order by a single-judge bench led by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, which shielded Biswas from coercive police action until August 17. Under the conditions of that interim relief, the former sports minister was ordered not to leave the station without prior judicial approval.
Prior to receiving the court’s protection, Biswas had failed to comply with two separate summonses issued by the Bidhannagar police. However, the state’s legal representative informed the division bench on Tuesday that Biswas has since complied with subsequent police notices and appeared for questioning.
