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The Calcutta High Court indicated on Monday (September 7, 2026) that it may restrain the registration of further First Information Reports (FIRs) against senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee without the court’s approval, while hearing submissions that several criminal complaints continued to be filed against him despite interim protection provided by the court earlier.
The court also provided interim protection to Mr. Banerjee till November 30 in three FIRs linked to irregularities in the Trinamool’s Sebaashray health camps programme.
“Enough is enough. I have been hearing from May 4. Now I am going to pass orders relying on the one passed in Suvendu Adhikari’s case when he was Leader of Opposition,” the Bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said.
The court directed the police to not take any coercive action against Mr. Banerjee till November 30, 2026. It also directed Mr. Banerjee, the MP from Diamond Harbour, to cooperate with the investigation.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Mr. Banerjee, told the court that seven out of the 16 FIRs against the TMC leader had been filed by his unsuccessful opponent in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Abhijit Das.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan further submitted that Mr. Banerjee was facing a situation similar to that considered by the Calcutta High Court in proceedings concerning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Adhikari was then the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and is currently the incumbent Chief Minister of the State.
“In Suvendu Adhikari’s case, we have the exact same prayer. In our earlier plea, your Lordship granted us relief in May and June. After those two orders, these FIRs were filed, exactly like in Adhikari’s case, trying to circumvent the protection we have,” Mr. Sankaranarayanan said.
In 2022, Mr. Adhikari had moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking the quashing of all 26 FIRs filed against him by the West Bengal Police. Mr. Adhikari had claimed the cases were politically motivated and filed after he quit the TMC (the ruling party at the time) to join the BJP (in the Opposition at the time).
On December 8, 2022, the single-judge Bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha had ordered blanket protection for Mr. Adhikari, ruling that no new FIRs could be filed against him without the court’s prior approval.
Citing the case, Justice Bhattacharyya on Monday (September 7) also questioned the nature of the complaints against Mr. Banerjee. The investigators could barely prove his involvement in the cases so far, the court said.
“I have personally seen three complaints. Nothing is connected to the petitioner (Abhishek Banerjee). You (the State authorities) investigate and file your chargesheet. Custodial interrogation [of Mr. Banerjee] is not required. Has he prescribed the medicines [in the Sebaashray health camps]?” the court asked.
Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Mazumder submitted that although Mr. Banerjee had not directly committed the alleged acts, they could ultimately be connected to him through his subordinates. The complainant was a whistleblower, Mr. Mazumder added.
“Why was the whistle not blown one year back?” the court responded. As Mr. Banerjee was stated to be abroad, the court clarified that the police could take further steps upon his return.
Mr. Banerjee is currently undergoing eye treatment in the U.S. after the Supreme Court gave him leave to go.
Published – September 07, 2026 10:13 pm IST
