The Calcutta High Court on Friday denied interim bail for all four — including two ministers, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim — arrested by the CBI in connection with the Narada graft case. But instead of jail custody, all four will be placed under house arrest.

The matter will now be heard by a larger bench of five judges, including the acting Chief Justice, possibly on Monday.

The order for house arrest was passed shortly after a difference of opinion split the two-member division bench of acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee. While Banerjee was in favour of granting bail, Bindal favoured house arrest. “But still I find that considering the age and health issues of the accused, three of whom are said to be admitted in hospital, instead of custody in jail, they can be put under house arrest in their own homes,” the acting Chief Justice said.

On the issue of ministers “managing Covid in the State”, the division bench said, “officials will not have any direct access to the accused”. However, the accused ministers “are permitted to deal with the files sent to them online and hold meetings through video conferencing.”

“A complete log of all video conferencing along with the details of the persons with whom it was held and the purpose, shall be maintained. The video conferencing facility shall not be used for any other purpose. Further, complete record of any person visiting the house of the accused shall be maintained along with its duration and the purpose. The jail authorities shall install, if not already there, CCTV cameras at the entry point of the houses in which the accused persons will remain and the recording thereof shall be kept to ascertain the persons who visit the accused,” the division bench said. The two ministers - Mukherjee and Hakim - and politicians Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee were arrested on Monday in relation to the Narada sting tapes. The four have been named in the charge sheet filed by the investigation agency.

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