Calcutta HC extends relief to Abhishek Banerjee in speech case

The Calcutta High Court extended TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's interim protection from coercive action until October 6 in an alleged intimidatory speech case. The court directed him to continue cooperating with the investigation and denied permission for overseas eye treatment

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday extended till October 6 TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s interim protection from coercive action in a case of alleged intimidatory statements he made during the West Bengal assembly election campaign.

Granting the relief, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed Banerjee to cooperate with the probe and not travel abroad without the court’s permission as previously ordered.

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The judge extended the interim protection to Banerjee till October 6, or until further orders, whichever is earlier and said the TMC national general secretary’s plea for modification of conditions for granting him interim protection will be heard in August, but did not fix any particular date.

The Diamond Harbour MP had moved the application seeking permission to travel abroad for eye treatment. Maintaining that the court was not inclined to allow the petitioner to travel abroad when the investigation was underway, Justice Bhattacharyya said there are several reputed eye clinics in Kolkata.

After Banerjee’s counsel stated that he had cooperated with the investigation in compliance with the high court’s order, Justice Bhattacharyya verbally observed that he would not grant permission unless the medical issue could not be treated in Kolkata. When his lawyer argued that the petitioner has the right to choose his doctor, Justice Bhattacharyya said the court also needed to satisfy its conscience.

The court said that Banerjee should continue cooperating as long as the investigation proceeds. In an oral observation, Justice Bhattacharyya said the TMC MP should appear before the head of ophthalmology at the state-run SSKM Hospital, who will decide whether Banerjee’s eye issue can be treated there.

The court had on May 21 granted Banerjee protection from coercive action till July 31 in connection with the intimidatory speech case and had then directed him to cooperate with the probe and not travel abroad without its permission.

The TMC leader had prayed for quashing the FIR over his alleged comments against the leaders and workers of a rival party at a public meeting on April 27 in the run-up to the second phase of the West Bengal assembly polls.

Representing the West Bengal government in the case, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar informed the court that the investigation was ongoing and Banerjee had given his voice sample before a magistrate as per this court’s direction.