The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday gave an oral assurance to Delhi High Court that it would not execute till January 9 the production warrant issued against Trinamul Congress leader Anubrata Mondal by a lower court for his interrogation in the cattle smuggling case in the national capital.

Following the ED’s assurance, Justice Jasmeet Singh posted for January 9, 2023, Mondal’s plea challenging the order of the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi for producing him before it. On Monday, the court had allowed the ED to bring Mondal to Delhi for questioning.

The development in the high court can be seen as a temporary relief for Mondal, who was remanded in police custody for seven days by a court in Birbhum district on Tuesday in an attempt-to-murder case.

Multiple sources in the Trinamul Congress said Mondal was visibly happy after being informed about the high court’s order.

“The high court’s order certainly came in our favour. He is now in police custody and the ED would not be able to arrest him till January 9,” said Malay Mukherjee, a lawyer and a Trinamul leader.

However, a section of senior lawyers in Calcutta said the relief for Mondal might not last till January 9 if the ED approached the Supreme Court for Mondal’s interrogation in the capital and got a favourable order.

“If the ED moves the Supreme Court and gets a favorable order, the situation may change.... Although Mondal is now in the custody of Bengal police in an attempt-to-murder case, the court may give priority to the ED’s case that accused him of a serious money laundering offence. In that case, the Supreme Court may quash the order of the Birbhum court and grant permission to the ED to take him to Delhi,” said a senior lawyer in Calcutta.

Sources in the ED headquarters declined to say whether the agency was planning to move the Supreme Court. Mondal had been arrested by the CBI on August 11 in the cattle smuggling case. Later, based on CBI’s FIR, the ED registered a money laundering case against him.

Mondal had been lodged in the Asansol correctional home since the last week of August. Soon after the Delhi court granted the ED permission to bring Mondal to the capital for questioning, he was slapped with an attempt-to-murder charge by Birbhum police following a complaint lodged by a former Trinamul chief of a gram panchayat.

The police arrested Mondal on Tuesday and secured his remand for seven days from a Birbhum court. The Birbhum district president of Trinamul is currently lodged at the Dubrajpur police station.

Sources said the Birbhum police had to intensify security inside and outside the Dubrajpur police station to handle hundreds of Mondal’s followers, who were trying to meet him in police custody. Many leaders like the party’s Mayureswar MLA Abhijit Roy and Nalhati MLA Raju Singh went to the police station to meet Mondal, who returned to the district for the first time since he had been arrested by the CBI on August 11.

“We went to meet our leader as we have not seen him since August. He is still our district president. But the police did not allow us to meet him,” said Roy, the Mayureswar MLA.

The police refused them permission to see Mondal because of legal issues.

“It is a rule that none other than the accused’s lawyer would be allowed to meet that person in police custody. So, no one was allowed. However, we had to intensify security at the police station as the accused is a very important person,” said a police officer.

The main gate of the Dubrajpur police station was guarded by several police personnel and civic volunteers on Wednesday. A deputy superintendent of police and an officer-in-charge of a nearby police station have been deployed at Dubrajpur.

No outsider was allowed inside the police station without satisfying the guards about their purpose of visit.

“We are not ready to face any questions on relaxing laws for Anubrata Mondal at this point. The person and the recent legal development involving him already raised so many questions. He is kept under CCTV surveillance and we are following all norms.... We don’t want to break this by allowing anyone to meet him,” said a police source.

Sources have said Mondal is in a good mood since he is in police custody. He had fish curry and rice for his lunch on Wednesday.