The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to six persons arrested by the CBI from a brickfield in Nandigram, two days after the 2007 police firing that killed over a dozen people.

Kanai Lal Das and the five other accused had surrendered in the Contai ACJM court in East Midnapore on February 23, 2009 after arrest warrants were issued against 10 people, including them. On two earlier occasions, the Tamluk district court had rejected their bail petition.

On Wednesday, the counsel of the six accused, Milan Mukherjee, told the High Court that the CBI has failed to file a chargesheet against his clients and that they have been languishing in jail for more than 90 days.

According to a Supreme Court’s order, bail should be granted to them, pleaded Mukherjee. CBI’s counsel Ranjan Roy, however, opposed the bail plea saying that the investigation into the case had been stalled following a stay order passed by the apex court.