look news india
Kolkata, 17 February (HS). The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata on Saturday rejected the first bail plea of former West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallik. Mallik, who is in jail, was removed from the post of minister on Friday. As the Food and Supplies Minister of West Bengal from 2011 to 2021, he is currently in judicial custody due to his alleged involvement in a PDS case worth crores of rupees.
Mallik's bail plea was important in two respects. First, he had filed this petition on Friday, just a day after the ministerial post was snatched from him. Second, this was the first time that he had filed a bail plea after his arrest by ED officials in October last year.
Political observers say that the West Bengal government's action against him has convinced Mallick that he will now have to fight his own battle as the Trinamool Congress leadership has distanced itself from him. On Saturday, Mallik's lawyer filed a bail plea, arguing that his client had no connection with the PDS case. Therefore he should be granted bail. He also argued in support of the petition citing Mallik's ill health. PMLA Court, while rejecting the bail plea, said that the next hearing in the case will be on February 20.