The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the arrest of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s close aide till the next date of hearing but told him to appear before police officers investigating a land fraud case and cooperate with the probe.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the state government, urged the top court to restrict the stay on arrest till the next date of hearing (PTI FILE)

Banerjee’s personal secretary Sumit Roy, who has been on the run, had approached the top court after the Calcutta high court rejected his request for anticipatory bail on August 3.

“The petitioner is directed to join and cooperate with the investigation. His arrest in relation to FIR No. 133 of 2026, registered at Police Station Salboni, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing, subject to him furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the investigating officer,” a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said.

The bench told Roy to join the investigation from 10 am to 6 pm on the designated dates and directed that he would not be accompanied by an advocate or any other person.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the state government, said the police required his custodial interrogation and urged the court to restrict the stay on arrest till the next date of hearing.

“It has been witnessed in the state that whenever any person is accused of a serious crime, the then chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) would obstruct the law enforcement agencies,” Mehta said, adding that something similar had happened when the police went to arrest Roy in the past.

The bench pointed to the change of guard in the state. “Now the political climate has changed. What is a matter of serious concern is whether this is only the tip of the iceberg. Let him join investigation and you can inform us if he is cooperating,” the court said.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for Roy along with advocate Karishma Maria said it was surprising that the country’s solicitor general was appearing in a matter related to a politician’s aide.

Sankaranarayanan said Roy was willing to appear before the police if he was given protection from arrest.

According to the police, Roy’s name figured during the questioning of former Trinamool Congress legislator Sujoy Hazra in connection with the sale of large tracts of government land in Salboni on the basis of fabricated documents. Sankaranarayanan said the allegations were five years old and it was only now that the police was seeking his custody.

The court posted the next hearing on August 14, observing, “we would like to see the outcome of our orders”.