The Calcutta High Court on Thursday, 24 September 2026, barred the West Bengal Police from registering any new case or arresting Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll, in any fresh matter. The restriction will remain in force until October 12, providing a crucial legal shield ahead of the bypoll scheduled for October 6.

What the Court Ordered

A single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya ruled that while Pradhan remains in judicial custody in two existing cases, state police are barred from booking him or showing him as arrested in any new case until the restriction expires. Pradhan is currently held in judicial custody in a murder case registered against him in 2007 during the anti-land acquisition movement at Nandigram under the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government, with a court sending him to custody till October 3. A separate court remanded him to jail till October 5 in another case.

State Government Challenges the Order

The West Bengal government moved swiftly to contest the ruling, approaching the High Court almost immediately after Justice Bhattacharya issued it. A division bench headed by new Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge is scheduled to take up the challenge on Friday. The government's stated position is that Pradhan's arrest on 18 September was part of a broader directive to execute all long-pending non-bailable warrants before the bypolls — not a politically motivated act.

The Political Backdrop

Pradhan was arrested on the evening of 18 September, within hours of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announcing that her faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would back the Congress candidate in Nandigram. That announcement itself followed the dramatic withdrawal of TMC faction candidate Sanchita Dey Pradhan from the contest — a development widely read as a significant step toward Opposition unity in the state after the TMC faction's heavy defeat in the Assembly elections earlier this year.

Critics argue the timing of Milan Pradhan's arrest — coming within hours of a major political alignment against the ruling dispensation — raises questions about the use of the police machinery ahead of a sensitive bypoll. The state government has denied any political motivation.

Family Speaks Out

Milan Pradhan's wife, Arpita Pradhan, posted an emotional video on social media challenging the timing of the arrest. 'My husband was arrested immediately after the Congress announced his name as the party candidate. He used to go to vote regularly and used to stay in the area during the festival times. He was not arrested for so long. Now, why was he arrested after the Congress named him as the bypoll candidate?' she said in the video.

What Happens Next

The Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls are set for October 6, with results due on October 9. Friday's division bench hearing will be critical: if the state succeeds in vacating the single-judge order, police would regain the ability to act against Pradhan in new cases before polling day. The legal and political contest in Nandigram is now inseparable, and the outcome of the High Court proceedings could directly shape the bypoll dynamics.