Calcutta High Court could not hear a petition moved by Anubrata Mondal, who challenged a lower court’s order that declined to stay the Enforcement Directorate’s decision to shift the Trinamul leader to New Delhi for interrogation, because of the death of barrister and former Union minister Satyabrata Mookherjee.

Justice Bibek Chaudhuri, who was supposed to hear the plea, sent the matter to Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava to decide whether a special bench would be constituted to hear the case on Saturday, which is a holiday for the court.

Mondal’s counsel Sandipan Ganguly had on Friday prayed before the court to move an urgent unlisted motion submitting that on the basis of an order passed by the special judge of the CBI court in Asansol, the Enforcement Directorate has already taken a step to shift the Trinamul leader to Delhi for further investigation in the cattle-smuggling case.

According to Mondal’s counsel, the production warrant on the basis of which the Trinamul leader was sought to be shifted to Delhi was bad in law and the CBI court could not issue such an order. Counsels on behalf of the petitioner and the deputy solicitor general agreed to move the matter at 3 pm during the day.

However, the Bar Library Club adopted a resolution that their members would not attend the day’s proceeding on account of the death of Mookherjee, who was its senior member. A similar resolution was adopted by the Bar Association and Incorporated Law Society of Calcutta High Court.

In view of such circumstances, it was submitted by counsels of both sides that they would not be able to take part in the proceedings on Friday as a mark of respect to Mookherjee. At the same time, advocate Ganguly said that instant revision was required to be moved urgently.

In Asansol, the CBI special court of CBI on Friday extended judicial custody of Mondal till March 17 after he was virtually produced from the correctional home. When asked about his health, the Trinamul leader told the judge that he was not keeping well. The judge then told the correctional home authorities to provide proper treatment to Mondal.