8 hours ago
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The Calcutta High Court connected Wednesday (June 10, 2026) granted interim extortion to erstwhile Sports Minister and elder Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from Tollygunge Aroop Biswas against immoderate coercive enactment successful the Lionel Messi lawsuit case.
The lawsuit against Mr. Biswas was filed by organiser Satadru Datta, alleging extortion, cheating, and misuse of governmental influence. The lawsuit held successful December 2025 astatine the Salt Lake stadium ended successful monolithic chaos and vandalism, and led to large embarrassment for the ruling authorities connected the planetary stage.
This is the archetypal incidental of alleviation fixed by the High Court to immoderate apical TMC person since the crackdown began connected them aft their monolithic electoral loss. Many apical leaders person been jailed successful the past month.
Mr. Biswas had moved the tribunal seeking extortion against immoderate coercive enactment aft an FIR was filed against him.
However, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya questioned Mr. Biswas wherefore helium had failed to crook up for questioning adjacent aft 2 abstracted notices were sent by the Bidhannagar police. The erstwhile Tollygunge MLA has besides been asked by the tribunal to taxable his passport and not permission presumption without the court’s permission.
The tribunal has besides directed that Mr. Biswas look earlier the constabulary for questioning erstwhile a announcement is served to him astatine slightest 48 hours prior. Justice Bhattacharyya besides added that everyone was ashamed by however the chaos unfolded astatine the Messi event.
Once the chaos unfolded astatine the lawsuit past year, the Sports Minister was instantly suspended by past Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and organiser Mr. Datta, was arrested. However, Mr. Datta aboriginal accused that helium was made the autumn feline erstwhile Mr. Biswas was the 1 liable for the monolithic chaos astatine the lawsuit which led to Messi leaving the venue wrong minutes of arriving.
During the tribunal proceedings connected Wednesday, Mr. Datta’s counsel said that helium was coerced into giving 22,000 complimentary tickets, different accreditation cards, and adjacent proximity tickets by Mr. Biswas.
“Once you springiness america extortion we volition spell time oregon time after, whenever they ask,” Mr. Biswas’s assembly said portion answering Justice Bhattacharyya’s questions connected wherefore the TMC person has not appeared for questioning.
As pictures of Mr. Biswas holding the shot fable Messi by his waist came to fore successful the courtroom, the Justice besides asked, “Is Mr. Biswas Messi’s puerility friend? How did helium bash this? We felt ashamed owed to the Messi incidental fiasco.”
The tribunal besides asked wherefore the chaos unfolded successful Kolkata successful the beingness of the Sports Minister, erstwhile the aforesaid lawsuit was smoothly organised successful 3 different cities crossed India.
