New Delhi, August 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to Sumit Roy, the Personal Assistant of Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, in a West Bengal Police case related to alleged illegal land grabbing.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notice on Roy’s Special Leave Petition challenging the Calcutta High Court’s refusal to grant him anticipatory bail.
The apex court directed Roy to join the ongoing investigation and fully cooperate with the investigating agency. Subject to compliance with these conditions, his arrest will remain stayed until further orders.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Roy, assured the court that his client would cooperate with the probe and sought interim protection from arrest.
Recording the undertaking, the Bench directed Roy to appear before the investigating agency for questioning without being accompanied by any lawyer or other person.
“The petitioner shall fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. He shall remain available for investigation from 10 am to 6 pm with usual breaks. However, his arrest shall remain stayed,” the court ordered.
Roy approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea earlier this week in a case registered at Salboni Police Station in West Midnapore district.
While dismissing the plea, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the Calcutta High Court observed that the matter was not suitable for granting pre-arrest bail considering the nature of allegations and the material collected during the investigation.
The High Court noted the prosecution’s claims that government land was allegedly transferred with the assistance of certain officials of the land department and that several forged title documents had been recovered during the probe.
It also referred to statements of security personnel who allegedly witnessed threats issued by Roy when the issue of refunding money arose, observing that these circumstances did not justify granting anticipatory bail.
Before the High Court, Roy had argued that his name was not mentioned in the FIR and that he was implicated later because of his association as Abhishek Banerjee’s Personal Assistant. His counsel claimed there were no banking records or electronic communications connecting him with the alleged offence and alleged political motivation behind the case.
However, the High Court held that witness statements and other material collected during the investigation required further examination and that custodial interrogation could not be ruled out at that stage.
The case pertains to allegations that Roy illegally acquired and sold government-vested land in Salboni using forged documents. Following a complaint, police registered an FIR and initiated an investigation.
Police had earlier issued an arrest warrant after Roy could not be traced at his known addresses. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police also issued a lookout notice against him.
In June, police teams searched Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat and Roy’s in-laws’ residence in Serampore, but he was not found.
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