Abhishek Banerjee's protection from arrest in signature forgery case extended again
Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has received major relief from the Calcutta High Court in the alleged MLA signature
Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has received major relief from the Calcutta High Court in the alleged MLA signature forgery case, with the court extending his protection from coercive action, including arrest, by another month. Justice Kausik Chanda continued the interim protection granted earlier while directing that the matter be listed for hearing again next week. Read Full Story The order allows Banerjee to remain protected as the CID continues its investigation into allegations that signatures of party legislators were forged on documents submitted for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
The latest order extends the relief first granted on June 11, when the High Court directed Banerjee to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan and cooperate with investigators. Banerjee subsequently appeared before the agency and was questioned for nearly six hours. With the extension of the interim protection, he will continue to enjoy immunity from coercive action while remaining obligated to assist the probe. MLAs' SIGNATURE FORGERY CASE The case centres on allegations that the signatures of several Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged or improperly obtained on a resolution submitted to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose for appointing key opposition functionaries after the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
The resolution proposed Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandyopadhyay as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as chief whip. The controversy began after expelled TMC MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha alleged that no legislators' meeting was held on May 6 to approve the resolution. They claimed they signed the attendance register only on May 19 and accused party leaders of fabricating records, while also questioning the authenticity of several signatures. The CID later took over the probe into allegations of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Investigators searched TMC offices for the original resolution book and attendance register and questioned Abhishek Banerjee about the disputed documents and their submission to the Assembly Speaker.
The investigation comes amid the TMC's crushing electoral defeat and the ensuing internal rebellion. Banerjee has also been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged school recruitment scam. While the High Court has extended his protection from arrest, the CID investigation will continue, with the matter scheduled to return to court next week. Ends
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