New Delhi, November 3, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea filed by Trinamool Congress MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad challenging an FIR registered against him in an alleged extortion case. The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu allowed him to withdraw the petition and dismissed it as withdrawn.
The bench said it would not permit Azad to invoke its jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution, as his anticipatory bail plea was already pending before the Calcutta High Court, which had granted him protection from arrest. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Azad, then sought permission to withdraw the petition.
The FIR was registered by the West Bengal Police following a businessman’s complaint that he was summoned to Azad’s bungalow in Durgapur on May 21 last year, where an associate of the MP allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh. The complainant also alleged that he was threatened with the closure of his cooking gas business if he did not pay and claimed to possess an audio recording of the incident.
Azad has denied the allegations, calling them a conspiracy to malign his image. He has maintained that he was not in Durgapur on the day of the alleged incident and submitted his flight records before the High Court.
On September 15, the Calcutta High Court granted Azad interim protection from coercive action, including arrest, for six months and directed him to cooperate with the investigation by the West Bengal Police CID. It also ordered the agency to give him at least seven days’ advance notice before summoning him for questioning.
Azad appeared at the CID headquarters, Bhabani Bhavan, in Kolkata on September 22 in connection with the case. He is a member of India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning team and represents Bardhaman-Durgapur in the Lok Sabha.
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