The Supreme Court on Thursday, 6 August granted interim protection from arrest to Sumit Roy, Personal Assistant to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, in connection with a West Bengal Police case involving alleged illegal land grabbing. The court simultaneously directed Roy to join and fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

What the Supreme Court Ordered

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana issued notice on Roy's Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Calcutta High Court's refusal to grant him anticipatory bail. The bench made the arrest stay conditional on Roy's full cooperation with investigators.

The court's order was explicit: 'The petitioner to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. He should not be accompanied by any advocate or any other person. He shall remain available for any investigation from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm with the usual breaks. However, his arrest will remain stayed.'

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Roy, gave an undertaking before the court that his client would cooperate with the probe and sought interim protection from arrest. Recording the undertaking, the CJI-led bench directed Roy to appear before the investigating agency for interrogation.

Why the Calcutta High Court Rejected Anticipatory Bail

Roy moved the Supreme Court after a single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the Calcutta High Court earlier this week rejected his anticipatory bail plea, holding it was 'not a fit case' given the nature of the allegations and the material gathered during investigation.

The High Court took note of the prosecution's case that government lands were allegedly transferred with the assistance of certain land department officials and that several forged title deeds had been seized. It also referred to statements of security personnel who allegedly witnessed threats made by Roy when the question of refund of money arose — circumstances the court found did not warrant pre-arrest bail.

The High Court further held that witness statements, including those of police personnel, required further verification and custodial investigation at that stage.

The Allegations Against Roy

The case, registered by the Salboni Police Station in West Midnapore district, centres on allegations that Roy grabbed and sold government-vested land using forged documents. After Roy could not be traced at his known addresses, a local court issued an arrest warrant. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police had also issued a lookout notice against him.

In June, police teams conducted searches at Abhishek Banerjee's residence in Kolkata's Kalighat neighbourhood and at Roy's in-laws' residence in Serampore, but Roy was not found at either location.

Roy's Defence and Political Angle

Roy had contended before the High Court that he was not named in the original FIR and was subsequently implicated only because of his role as Personal Assistant to the TMC General Secretary. His counsel argued there were no banking transactions or electronic communications linking Roy to the alleged offence and claimed the case was politically motivated.

The High Court rejected these arguments, finding that statements collected during investigation required further custodial verification. The Supreme Court's interim protection now keeps Roy out of custody while his SLP is heard, though the conditions attached leave him with little room to avoid the probe. The matter is expected to come up for further hearing as the court has issued notice to the respondents.