SC Stays Calcutta HC Order Imposing Rs 25 Lakh Cost On TMC's Abhishek Banerjee In Bengal School Jobs Scam

The SC stayed the order imposing a Rs 25 lakh cost on Banerjee for filing a plea to recall an order passed by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay allowing the CBI and ED to interrogate him.

Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

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The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the order imposing a Rs 25 lakh cost on Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for filing a plea to recall an order passed by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate to interrogate him in a case pertaining to a multi-crore recruitment scam in state-run schools of West Bengal, as reported by the news agency PTI. 

School jobs scam: SC stays Calcutta HC order imposing Rs 25 lakh cost on TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 26, 2023

The apex court refused to stay the Calcutta High Court direction asking the CBI and the ED to interrogate Banerjee in connection with school jobs scam. The matter was listed for hearing before a vacation bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice PS Narasimha.

Banerjee on Monday moved the Supreme Court against challenging a Calcutta High Court order which imposed costs of Rs 25 lakhs on him and allowed an ED and CBI probe against him in connection with the case. Singhvi said Banerjee was being called for questioning while campaigning outside the state and urged the court for an early listing of the matter, as reported by the news agency IANS.

On May 18, the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha upheld the previous order by the bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the same court empowering central agencies to question Banerjee in connection with the scam.

Justice Sinha also empowered CBI and ED to question the accused in the case and expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh in connection with the latter's allegations accusing the central agencies of putting pressure on him to name Banerjee in the case. Justice Sinha had imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakhs each on Banerjee and Ghosh. A counsel involved in the matter, informed media persons that the penalty had been imposed because of wasting time, as reported by IANS.

Originally, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay empowered the central agencies for questioning Banerjee. He then approached the Supreme Court in the matter. Following the order of the Supreme Court, two related cases in the matter were transferred to the bench of Justice Sinha.