Calcutta HC grants interim protection to Abhishek Banerjee in remaining 3 cases

Kolkata, Aug 11 (AHN) A single-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from coercive police action, including arrests, to Trinamool Congress General Secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha MP, Abhishek Banerjee in three more cases registered against him by the West Bengal Police.

The state police had registered a total of 16 cases against Abhishek, also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Out of these 16 cases, interim protection was granted to the Diamond Harbour MP earlier in 13 cases.

And now on Tuesday, the interim protection was granted in the remaining three cases which will be effective till August 31, by the single-judge Bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.

Two of the three cases in which the court granted interim protection to the Diamond Harbour MP were registered at Kalitala Police Station and Bishnupur Police Station under Diamond Harbour Police district, and one was registered at Bhabanipur Police under Kolkata Police.

Incidentally, on Monday, the Supreme Court’s Division Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana allowed Abhishek to travel abroad for three weeks for medical treatment of his eye, setting aside the Calcutta High Court's refusal to relax the restriction on his foreign travel.

However, the permission was subject to certain conditions, including that he would travel only on his diplomatic passport and share his itinerary and place of stay abroad with the investigating agency.

Now, with the Calcutta High Court granting him interim protection in the remaining three cases registered against him by the state police, the pressure is off to a great extent on the Diamond Harbour MP.

However, on Tuesday both the state government counsel and the counsel for the petitioner on the basis of whose complaints the FIRs were registered against Abhishek, tried their best to oppose the granting of interim protection.

Both the counsels questioned the admissibility of the petitions seeking interim protection instead of seeking anticipatory bail.

However, Justice Bhattacharyya dismissed their arguments stating that if interim protection is not granted in these cases, then the previous interim protections granted in other cases would become meaningless.

Finally, at the end of the hearing Justice Bhattacharyya granted interim protection to the Diamond Harbour MP till August 31.