The Calcutta high court on Wednesday refused permission to Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to travel abroad for ophthalmic treatment and directed him to visit the ophthalmology department at the state-run SSKM hospital.
“The single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya passed a similar order on Banerjee’s petition on July 20 and he moved the Supreme Court which sent the matter back to the high court on Monday. Banerjee can either follow Wednesday’s order or move a high court division bench,” a lawyer said requesting anonymity.
On July 20, the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya turned down the Diamond Habour MP’s plea but granted him interim protection from coercive police action in the election speech case till September 30.
On Wednesday, Justice Bhattacharyya observed that only specialists can determine whether Banerjee cannot be treated in India and directed him for the second time to consult the ophthalmology department at Kolkata’s SSKM Medical College and Hospital.
Banerjee’s lawyers told the court that he had been going to the USA for ten years for his treatment and hence should be allowed to travel.
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee’s lawyers told the court that he had been going to the USA for ten years for his treatment and hence should be allowed to travel.
{{/usCountry}}The state’s lawyers opposed the petition saying Banerjee’s absence from India would affect ongoing investigations in several cases, including the one in which he is accused of making provocative remarks in some of his campaign speeches in the run-up to the May assembly elections.
The Bidhannagar police commissionerate registered a first information report (FIR) on May 15 against Banerjee for his campaign speeches.
The FIR, a copy of which HT saw, was registered under four sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and two sections of the Representation of the People Act. Two of the charges are non-bailable. The investigation was later taken over by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) which questioned Banerjee on June 16 for around six-and-a-half hours.
On July 10, the bench of Justice Bhattacharyya pulled up Banerjee for not giving his voice sample in the election speech case despite receiving two notices and told the MP’s lawyer that the bench had earlier granted relief from coercive police until July 31 only on the condition that Banerjee would cooperate with the investigators.
The court directed Banerjee to provide his voice sample on July 15 after hearing his petition seeking exemption from recording it. Banerjee’s lawyer Ayan Bhattacharya withdrew the petition after the court made several strong observations.
On July 15, Banerjee went to a lower court and gave his voice sample, Justice Bhattacharyya treated it as a sign of cooperation and extended the interim relief from police action till September 30 during the hearing on July 20.