Calcutta High Court on Thursday “set aside” a lower court’s order to discharge Bimal Gurung from the case related to the 2010 murder of Madan Tamang, the then president of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL).

Tamang’s wife Bharati and the CBI approached the high court in 2017 and filed a revision petition against the Calcutta city session court’s order to drop the name of Gurung, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, from the chargesheet.

“The alleged portion of the impugned order passed by the learned chief judge of the city sessions court through which he discharged Gurung from the case has been set aside,” said Amar Lama, Madan’s brother and a lawyer.

The high court also ordered charges be framed against Gurung with the other accused. The order was pronounced by Justice Subhendu Samanta.

Tamang was hacked to death on May 21, 2010, just before he was supposed to address a public meeting, which many said would reveal explosive details of hill politics, in Darjeeling. The Gurung-led Morcha was in control of Darjeeling politics.

Tamang had been alleging that Gurung and his Morcha would accept an autonomous council with the name “Gorkhaland”, and they were insincere about the statehood demand.

The CID was initially probing the case. But after Nicole Tamang, a member of the Morcha, and a prime accused, escaped from CID custody, it was handed over to the CBI.

The CBI in its May 29, 2015 chargesheet had accused Gurung and 47 of his aides in the case, which included his wife Asha and politicians like Roshan Giri and Binay Tamang. In 2017, the Calcutta city sessions court dropped Gurung from the chargesheet, stating that the CBI had not given enough evidence against him.

Golay’s wife resigns

Krishna Kumari Rai, the wife of Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay), resigned as the MLA of Namchi-Singithang on Thursday, a day after taking oath. The Speaker accepted her resignation, the reason for which is not known.