Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee to appear before the CID at Bhawani Bhavan by 6 pm in connection with the alleged signature forgery case involving party MLAs. The court made it clear that he must cooperate with the investigation and that further avoidance of summons would not be accepted.
Justice Kaushik Chanda passed the order after hearing arguments from both sides. The court noted that Abhishek had earlier skipped three CID summons and said he would have to appear before the investigating agency within the deadline fixed by the court.
At the same time, the High Court granted Abhishek protection from arrest for 14 days. The court said investigators could carry out necessary searches and questioning during this period, but Abhishek would not be arrested for now. He has been directed not to obstruct the investigation in any manner.
The CID opposed the plea for protection from arrest. Appearing for the agency, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar argued that the case was not based on a general complaint, but on allegations made by MLAs themselves. He told the court that the investigation had already found that a resolution book was false and signatures had been forged.
Abhishek’s lawyer Ayan Bhattacharya argued that the manner in which the notice was issued was not proper. He told the court that Abhishek was not in Kolkata and sought time till Friday, while assuring that he was ready to appear before the CID. The court, however, asked him to cooperate and appear on Thursday itself.
The matter also saw a change in legal representation. Senior lawyer Kalyan Banerjee had earlier mentioned the case before the court for two days. However, according to the report, he later stepped aside from the matter after another lawyer’s name was indicated.
The case has triggered fresh political attention in West Bengal, where the CID probe into the alleged signature forgery has become a major flashpoint. With the High Court fixing a firm deadline while granting limited protection, the focus has now shifted to Abhishek’s appearance before the agency and the next steps in the investigation.