Signature Forgery Case: Abhishek Banerjee Gets Interim Protection From Arrest, Appears Before CID

Calcutta High Court grants Abhishek Banerjee interim relief in signature forgery case, directs him to cooperate with CID probe.

Abhishek Banerjee complied with the court order and appeared at CID headquarters in Kolkata.

Source : PTI

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee interim protection from any coercive action in connection with an alleged signature forgery case linked to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. While providing relief for three weeks, the court directed Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning. The TMC national general secretary complied with the order and reached the CID headquarters, Bhabani Bhaban, in Kolkata on Thursday evening.

Court Relief

Justice Kausik Chanda ordered that no coercive action be taken against Banerjee for three weeks. The court also directed him to appear before the CID by 6 pm on Thursday and to continue cooperating with investigators whenever required, provided he receives at least 24 hours' notice.

The matter is scheduled to be heard again after two weeks.

Banerjee had approached the High Court seeking protection from possible arrest or other coercive measures in relation to the CID probe into the alleged forgery of signatures of TMC legislators.

CID Probe

The investigation stems from a complaint filed by two rebel TMC MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who alleged that their signatures were forged on a party resolution appointing Ballygunge MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

Following the complaint, the Assembly Secretariat lodged an FIR with Kolkata Police. The case was subsequently transferred to the CID by the state government.

During the hearing, the state argued that Banerjee had ignored three summonses issued by the CID. Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar told the court that the original resolution document remained in the possession of the TMC national general secretary and claimed that at least five MLAs had disputed the authenticity of the signatures attributed to them.

The state further argued that recovery of the original document was essential for the investigation and that custodial interrogation of Banerjee was necessary. However, the court observed that an accused person has the right not to produce documents that may be used against them.

Banerjee's counsel, Ayan Banerjee, maintained that his client was willing to cooperate fully with investigators and contended that the CID's primary objective was to obtain documents rather than question him.