The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to Sumit Roy, a close aide of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, in connection with an alleged land grab and land scam case in West Bengal.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan, directed that Roy shall not be arrested in the case until the next date of hearing, which is likely to take place next week.
While granting relief, the apex court made it clear that Roy must cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.
The Bench permitted the police to question Roy between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., while restraining investigators from arresting him until the matter is heard again.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, opposed Roy's plea seeking protection from arrest.
Mehta referred to allegations of obstruction during investigations involving West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the past and informed the court that the case records had not yet reached him.
"The case papers have not yet been received. We require some time to place our submissions before the court," Mehta told the Bench.
Appearing for Roy, senior advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan argued that the allegations relate to events dating back to 2021, while the FIR was registered only in June 2026.He contended that the delayed registration of the case reflected political vendetta and that the prosecution was based on old allegations.
"The FIR has been lodged years after the alleged incident. The case is politically motivated," Roy's counsel argued before the court.
The defence also assured the Bench that Roy would comply with the investigation in accordance with the directions earlier issued by the Calcutta High Court.
Earlier this week, the Calcutta High Court had rejected Roy's anticipatory bail plea in the land scam case.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, however, granted him conditional anticipatory bail in a separate recruitment scam case, directing him to appear before the investigating officer within ten days and cooperate with the probe whenever required.
Roy subsequently approached the Supreme Court, expressing apprehension that he could be arrested in the land scam case while complying with the High Court's directions in the recruitment case.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter urgently and granted interim protection on Thursday.
The case pertains to allegations of illegal occupation and sale of government land in Salboni, Paschim Medinipur, using forged documents.
Investigators have alleged that government land was sold in exchange for money through fabricated records and that the transactions were carried out with the knowledge and consent of Roy, who is considered a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee.
After police failed to trace Roy at his known addresses, they approached the court seeking a warrant. Acting on the plea, the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Medinipur issued an arrest warrant against him.
Following the High Court's refusal to grant anticipatory bail, Roy moved the Supreme Court, which has now stayed his arrest until the next hearing while directing him to cooperate with the investigation.
