School recruitment case: Calcutta HC grants interim protection against arrest to Abhishek Banerjee

Kolkata, July 20 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim protection of four days to Trinamool Congress national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee against arrest by central investigation agencies in connection with the alleged multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal.

The matter will be heard again on July 24 and till that time the central agencies will not be able to take action against Banerjee.

While granting the interim protection, a single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh,  verbally observed that the central agencies will be able to take action against Banerjee in the event that their investigating officials have solid evidence as regards to financial defalcation against him.

Recently, Abhishek Banerjee moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order allowing central agencies to summon him in relation to the school job case.

However, a division bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha refused to interfere in the matter and instead advised that it was open for Banerjee to move the high court with a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Accordingly Banerjee’s counsel moved the high court, which gave him interim relief.

The high court’s single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay first allowed the central agencies to question Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the school recruitment case. Later the matter was shifted to the bench of Justice Amrita Sinha, which too upheld the order of Justice Gangopadhyay.

Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation had questioned Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the case. Later, he was also summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the matter which he avoided.