The Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik in an attempt to murder case lodged against him in 2018.

A division bench comprising justices Chitta Ranjan Dash and Partha Sarathi Sen also directed him to surrender before the trial court within a fortnight.

Pramanik moved the Circuit Bench on a direction of the Supreme Court, before which he had filed a prayer for protection earlier.

The division bench directed him to cooperate with the investigators in the case.

An attempt to murder case was registered against Pramanik at Dinhata police station in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district in 2018, when a group of people had allegedly fired on several workers of the ruling Trinamul Congress. One person was allegedly injured in the firing.

A warrant was issued against Pramanik by a lower court in connection with the case, following which he moved the anticipatory bail before the Circuit Bench.

After the high court adjourned the hearing till January 22 without giving him interim protection, the minister had moved the Supreme Court seeking the same.

The apex court had asked the West Bengal police not to take coercive action against Pramanik in connection with the case and directed the high court to hear his anticipatory bail plea.

Pramanik's lawyer claimed before the division bench that a false case alleging complicity in the incident was registered against the minister owing to political reasons.

Pramanik, who was earlier with the TMC, had joined the BJP in February 2019. He had contested the parliamentary polls in 2019 on a BJP ticket and won the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat.

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