Abhishek Banerjee
Kolkata: Bengal govt has filed an appeal in Supreme Court challenging a Calcutta High Court order granting Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee interim protection from arrest till Nov 30. The relief was granted on Aug 25 by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya in a slew of criminal cases registered in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas. It argued that serious criminal allegations were registered against Banerjee under statutory penal provisions across multiple police stations, including Bhowanipore, Kalitala and Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas. The court observed that the FIRs registered at Kalitala and Bishnupur — pertaining to incidents from 2017 and 2020 — did not specify direct involvement by Banerjee and were filed only in June after a change of regime, without complaints being filed at the time of the alleged incidents.
The hearing is likely after the Diwali judicial recess. During proceedings in the HC, state govt opposed the interim protection and requested a stay. The HC rejected the state’s contentions and granted interim protection in cases relating to the Bhowanipore, Kalitala and Bishnupur police stations. The court made no finding on the allegation of political vendetta, stating that the issue would be considered upon overall adjudication.
State govt filed its petition seeking to set aside the order before the expiry of the deadline.
Under the conditions of the interim order, police must issue at least 48 hours’ notice prior to questioning Banerjee, the MP must cooperate with the investigation and he cannot travel abroad without court permission. The HC directed police to submit an investigation progress report by Nov 23. The HC did not quash any FIR and directed that the police investigation would continue.