Abhishek Banerjee moves SC over bar on foreign travel for eye treatment
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court against a Calcutta High Court order that refused him permission to travel abroad for eye
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court against a Calcutta High Court order that refused him permission to travel abroad for eye treatment. The high court had dismissed his plea on August 5, saying he was unwilling to appear before a medical board at the state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for an assessment of his condition. The travel request is linked to conditions imposed in a case over alleged comments made at a public meeting during the West Bengal Assembly polls. Read Full Story While dismissing the application, the high court said, "In view of submission made on behalf of the applicant (Banerjee) that applicant will not appear before the medical board at SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, this court finds the issue which is agitated before this court by filing application...
ought not to be kept pending further." The court said that if Banerjee had appeared before the medical board, the opinion of the medical experts could have been considered to examine whether he needed to go abroad for treatment. On August 3, the Supreme Court had asked the Calcutta High Court to take up within a week Banerjee's plea seeking permission to travel abroad for eye treatment. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Banerjee, had told the top court that the plea sought modification of the high court order to allow the MP to travel for medical treatment. The high court had earlier extended till October 6 Banerjee's interim protection from coercive action in a case related to alleged comments against 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.
While granting relief, the high court had directed Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation and not travel abroad without the court's permission, as previously ordered. It had extended the interim protection till October 6, or until further orders, whichever was earlier, and said his plea for modification of the conditions would be heard in August, though no date was fixed. The high court had also said earlier that it was not inclined to allow the petitioner to travel abroad while the investigation was underway, and noted that there were several reputed eye clinics in Kolkata. Banerjee has also sought quashing of the FIR against him.
With his latest move, Banerjee has now approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court refused to let him travel abroad for eye treatment and cited his unwillingness to appear before a medical board. Ends
The BriefWire