The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim protection to Trinamool Congress MP and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, restraining the West Bengal Police from taking any coercive action against him until July 31. The order comes in connection with an FIR filed over remarks Banerjee allegedly made targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah during election rallies ahead of the recently concluded West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya passed the interim order while hearing a plea filed by Banerjee seeking to quash the criminal case. However, the court made clear that the protection is conditional, Banerjee must cooperate with the police investigation, respond to notices within 48 hours of receiving them, and seek court permission before travelling abroad.
The court was sharply critical of Banerjee's remarks, questioning how a sitting Member of Parliament and senior party leader could make such statements. "These remarks were uncalled for," the court observed, adding that the state's troubled history of post-poll violence made such inflammatory speech all the more irresponsible.
Banerjee's counsel, Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, argued that the case amounted to malicious prosecution and that no violence had actually resulted from the remarks. The State government, however, opposed the grant of interim protection, maintaining that existing legal safeguards were sufficient.
The complainant's counsel countered that incidents of violence did occur following Banerjee's comments. The matter will next be heard before July 31.
