Calcutta HC gives Abhishek Banerjee nod to travel abroad – The Hindu

Kolkata News

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday approached the Vacation Bench of the Calcutta High Court and prayed for an emergency hearing. Mr. Banerjee had been barred by the Enforcement Directorate from travelling abroad and he sought the Court’s intervention in the matter.

The High Court granted relief to the Diamond Harbour MP to travel abroad with his wife for medical reasons. The development comes only days after Mr. Banerjee on May 28 targeted a section of the judiciary stating that 1% of judges at the Calcutta High Court were working “with the Centre” in protecting some individuals.

The remarks by the Trinamool Congress secretary evoked strong reactions from the Opposition and the matter was brought to the notice of the Court. While the Court did not see enough material to initiate contempt proceedings against the MP, the comments come at a time when the Trinamool Congress government has suffered a series of setbacks in the Calcutta High Court.

On cases regarding the violence at Bogtui in Birbhum, the murder of a Congress councillor in Purulia, the rape and subsequent death of a minor in Nadia and the irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment (WBSSC), the Calcutta High Court had directed investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the last three months.  Prior to this, in August 2021, the High Court had directed CBI investigation into the post-poll violence after results of 2021 Assembly polls were declared.

What Mr. Banerjee was referring to about protecting “some individuals” was most likely directed at Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who has got relief from the High Court in cases lodged against him by the State government. 

In all the by-polls since the last Assembly election, the State’s ruling party has won every time with an overwhelming majority and none of the Opposition parties could pose any resistance. Two MPs and half a dozen of MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have defected to the State’s ruling party in a year.  The Opposition parties in West Bengal are in shambles. The BJP which showed promise before May 2021 is a divided house and the Left parties which are losing support since 2011 have not shown any signs of bouncing back. 

The only setback that the Mamata Banerjee-led government has suffered is at the Calcutta High Court.  The frequent CBI probes and remarks by the High Court are turning to be an embarrassment for the State’s ruling party.  While incidents like Bogtui violence reflect poorly on the law-and-order situation in the State, the irregularities in the School Service Commission recruitment raise questions on corruption.

Abhishek Banerjee is not the first Trinamool leader to target the judiciary.  Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while participating in the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers of the States and Chief Justices of High Courts in April this year had voiced concerns about High Courts taking up “politically-forced cases”.  Last year, when a court was hearing an election petition filed by the Chief Minister on the Nandigram election results, it imposed a cost of ₹5 lakh for “vilification adopted to seek recusal”. 

In August 2012, the Calcutta High Court had issued notice to Ms. Banerjee after her remarks directed at the judiciary at a seminar organised by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly was reported by a section of media. While the Court did not initiate any contempt proceedings, the remarks in the public domain created a flutter in the State.  The same year, the High Court had issued a contempt notice against West Bengal Minister Becharam Manna for allegedly making derogatory comments against the judiciary on its order on disputed land at Singur. The State government had trouble not only with the judiciary but also quasi-judicial bodies, particularly when retired Supreme Court Judge Asok Kumar Ganguly was the Chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. In the past few years, even the quasi-judicial bodies have shied away from taking on issues that are critical of the State government.

What is bothering the State’s ruling party is that from the issue of payment of Dearness Allowance to State government employees to the unnatural death of student leader Anish Khan, the West Bengal government has to defend everything before the courts and in many cases the judgment is going against the government. 

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/trinamools-troubles-with-a-section-of-judiciary/article65487689.ece