The Calcutta high court has agreed to take on record the reply affidavits filed by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, law minister Moloy Ghatak and the state government in response to the CBI’s plea to transfer the Narada case outside the state.

The CBI plea was made on grounds that the CM and Ghatak had led a dharna at its Kolkata office and that “mobocracy” vitiated court proceedings on May 17, the day two TMC ministers, an MLA and an ex-mayor, were arrested in the case.

On Wednesday, an HC bench allowed the applications filed by the state, the CM and the law minister, subject to payment of Rs 5,000 by each. The bench also granted the CBI 10 days to file its reply. The next hearing is scheduled for July 15.

The applicants had moved the bench on the directions of the Supreme Court, which annulled the HC bench’s order. It had refused to take on record their affidavits on the ground that they were waiting to do so after arguments in the case concluded. In her reply affidavit, the CM denied the CBI allegations about the events following the arrest of ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, MLA Madan Mitra and former TMC functionary Sovan Chatterjee.

(With inputs from agencies)