Bengal Job 'Scam': Relief For TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee As HC Orders No Coercive Action By ED

Calcutta HC gave relief to Abhishek Banerjee in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam case and directed the ED not to take any coercive action.

In a relief for Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the ED not to take coercive steps against him in connection with the school jobs scam in West Bengal. Notably, the HC did not quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, that was filed by the ED against Banerjee.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh instructed the ED that no coercive steps could be taken against the TMC MP and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew on the basis of the ECIR, reported news agency PTI.

The court maintained its stance that the evidence produced by the ED was not sufficient to warrant the TMC leader's arrest. The court also said that the investigation against Abhishek into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers in government and government-sponsored schools would continue. 

Hailing the verdict, the ruling Trinamool Congress siad the judgment showed that the central agencies were hounding and harassing the TMC MP.

"The judgement shows the central agencies have been hounding and harassing Banerjee, as he is one of the key forces behind the battle against BJP's communal and hatred-filled brand of politics," PTI quoted TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh as saying. 

"The court has restrained ED from harassing Abhishek further. He is helping in the probe and we know he will continue to assist the investigators. We all know real truth will come out," he further said.

The Opposition Congress and CPI(M), however, reserved comments on the Calcutta High Court verdict.

Earlier this month, Banerjee claimed that the ED had sent a notice to him to appear before it on September 13, the same day the first meeting of I.N.D.I.A's coordination committee took take place in Delhi. He also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the date of the summons.

Banerjee tweeted, "FIRST meet of INDIA’s coordination comm is on 13th Sept in Delhi, where I'm a member. But, ED conveniently served me a notice just now to appear before them on the very same day! One can't help but marvel at the timidity & vacuousness of the 56-inch chest model."

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also probing the corruption angle in the case against Banerjee. The ED is looking into the money trail involved in the alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment.