Supreme Court Stays Arrest Of Abhishek Banerjee's PA Sumit Roy In Salboni Land Scam Case
The Supreme Court stayed Sumit Roy's arrest in the alleged Salboni land scam while directing him to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the investigating agency without legal accompaniment
Supreme Court stays the arrest of Abhishek Banerjee's Personal Assistant Sumit Roy in the Salboni land scam case while directing him to cooperate with the investigation
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the arrest of Sumit Roy, Personal Assistant to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, in connection with the alleged Salboni land-grabbing case, while directing him to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana passed the interim order while hearing Roy's challenge to the Calcutta High Court's refusal to grant him anticipatory bail.
"The petitioner to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. He should not be accompanied by any advocate or any other person. He shall remain available for any investigation from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with the usual breaks. However, his arrest will remain stayed," the Bench ordered.
The Court further directed that Roy must appear before the investigating agency without being accompanied by any advocate or any other person during questioning.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Roy, submitted that his client had already been granted anticipatory bail by the Calcutta High Court in another case relating to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam. He argued that the FIR in the present case was registered only after the new government assumed office and sought similar protection, assuring the Court that Roy would cooperate with the investigation.
Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of West Bengal, contended that although the alleged offences were committed several years ago, no action had been taken by the previous government. He submitted that custodial interrogation of Roy was necessary.
Mehta also alleged that earlier attempts by law enforcement agencies to arrest the accused had been obstructed by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and sought permission to place the relevant material on record through an affidavit.
Responding to the submissions, Sankaranarayanan objected to what he described as political statements being made before the Court.
The matter arises out of a Salboni Police case registered under provisions relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy over an alleged government land fraud.
What happened before the High Court
On August 3, the Calcutta High Court had rejected Roy's anticipatory bail plea. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh declined to grant pre-arrest protection after hearing the parties.
Before the High Court, Roy had argued that he was not named in the FIR and that his alleged involvement surfaced only during the investigation. His counsel maintained that he had no connection with the land transactions and contended that he had been implicated solely because he served as the Personal Assistant to TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
It was further argued that the prosecution's case rested only on oral statements, without any banking transactions or electronic evidence linking Roy to the alleged offence, and that the prosecution was politically motivated.
The State, however, opposed the plea, submitting that the investigation had uncovered forged title deeds relating to government land. According to the prosecution, government land had been fraudulently transferred with the complicity of local political and influential persons, and the investigation had revealed material warranting custodial interrogation.
Case Title: Sumit Roy v. State of West Bengal
Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana
Hearing Date: August 6, 2026