Madan case adjourned hearing petition of GJM

TT, Calcutta, June 13: A special CBI court today adjourned till June 24 the hearing of a petition moved by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung and 21 associates seeking quashing of the charges levelled by the CBI against them in the Madan Tamang murder case.

The case is significant because Calcutta High Court has directed Gurung and the others to stay in Calcutta after the CBI court frames the charges against them and until the trial is complete.

"If the court frames the charges against them at this juncture, Gurung and the others will be in great trouble. To obey the high court order, they have to stay in Calcutta. But they are leading the agitation in the hills at this time," said a senior high court lawyer.

Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League president Madan Tamang was murdered in broad daylight in Darjeeling town on May 21, 2010. Tamang's widow, Bharati, had lodged a police complaint accusing Gurung and the others of killing her husband.

The state CID was directed to conduct the probe, but the high court later handed over the investigation to the CBI.

The central investigating agency initially acquitted Gurung and his associates of the murder charges. But when Bharati moved the Supreme Court seeking a fresh probe, the apex court directed the CBI to investigate again.

In May 2015, the CBI submitted a final chargesheet, naming 54 Morcha members, including Gurung.

The accused were charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Out of the 54 people, 32 are untraceable while the remaining 22, including Gurung and Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, moved anticipatory bail pleas in the high court.

A division bench headed by Justice Ashim Roy had in December last year granted the Morcha leaders anticipatory bail but had specified that the trial against the accused would be conducted by a special CBI court in Calcutta and they would have to stay in the city from the time of framing of the charges and until the completion of the trial.

After the high court directive, Bharati moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the bails.

"Since the Supreme Court has fixed June 22 for hearing Bharati's petition, the special CBI court today adjourned the hearing," a lawyer appearing for the state government said.