Relief for Abhishek Banerjee in signature forgery case, gets interim protection

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim protection from coercive action to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in the signature forgery case, a major controversy at the heart of an unprecedented split within the former ruling party, while directing him to appear before the CID for questioning later in the day.

Justice Kausik Chanda ordered Banerjee, who has been in Delhi since the weekend, to appear at the CID headquarters in Kolkata by 6 pm tonight and cooperate with investigators.

The court also made it clear that Banerjee would be allowed to leave after participating in the questioning process and would remain protected from coercive action for the next three weeks.

The matter is scheduled to come up again in two weeks, by when the CID has been directed to submit a report on the investigation.

The case stems from allegations that signatures of several MLAs were forged on documents related to the selection of the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

The controversy centres around a meeting allegedly convened by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence, during which discussions were held regarding the opposition post.

According to the complainants, signatures of some MLAs appeared on the resolution despite them allegedly not attending the meeting or signing any such document.

CONFLICTING TIMELINES, DISCREPANCIES

During the hearing today, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar, appearing for the state, opposed granting protection to Abhishek Banerjee and argued that notices had been served on him multiple times.

Justice Chanda, however, questioned the state's objection. "Why? He is stating that he will appear," the judge observed.

The state contended that there were inconsistencies regarding the dates of the alleged meeting and the signing of the resolution.

Majumdar argued that the resolution showed MLAs had signed on May 6, while Abhishek Banerjee's communication to the Speaker was sent on May 9.

However, when the Speaker later sought the minutes and resolution, the TMC MP allegedly stated that a meeting had been held on May 19 where MLAs signed the document.

"The MLAs have stated that no meeting took place on May 6 and they did not sign anything," the state counsel told the court.

He further argued that Abhishek Banerjee did not possess the original copy of the resolution and that investigators were considering whether his role had moved beyond that of a witness.

"The CID wants to take him into custody as an accused, especially since he doesn't even possess the original copy of the resolution," Majumdar submitted.

Appearing for the TMC leader, senior counsel Ayan Bhattacharya argued that the purpose of the CID notice was interrogation and not arrest.

"The purpose of serving a notice is interrogation. But what is the rationale for taking him into custody alongside that?" he asked.

Bhattacharya also argued that procedural irregularities or backdated signatures did not automatically amount to forgery.

The court appeared inclined to allow the probe to continue while ensuring Banerjee's cooperation.

"Let there be an investigation. After all, the resolution has been submitted," Justice Chanda remarked during the hearing.

CID INTENSIFIES PROBE

The High Court's order comes days after the CID intensified its probe.

On Tuesday, CID teams simultaneously visited the TMC supremo's office on Camac Street and Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence, where one of the registered party offices is located, to serve notices in connection with the investigation.

The disputed resolution and meeting records were annexed to a letter submitted to the Assembly Speaker and signed by Abhishek Banerjee.

Investigators are examining whether the signatures appended to those documents were genuine.

The TMC leader had sought more time to appear before the CID.

His counsel informed the court that he was expected to land in Kolkata around 4 pm on Thursday and would comply with the court's direction.

- Ends