Kolkata: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday did not allow an urgent hearing of an appeal by Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee challenging a single bench order, which said that there was no restraining order on CBI to act upon notice to him. Justice Amrita Sinha had on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Banerjee seeking a recall of a previous order of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, which said that investigative agencies such as the CBI and the ED could interrogate him in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment irregularities case.
Justice Sinha while dismissing the petition had also imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakhs on him and also a similar amount on Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the alleged scam. Banerjee moved a division bench challenging the order of Justice Sinha and prayed for an urgent hearing. The division bench presided by Justice Subrata Talukdar told Banerjee's lawyer that it would take up matters, which appear on the list for Friday and since it already has several hearings and orders to be passed, unlisted matters would not be taken up. The division bench gave liberty to Banerjee's lawyer to mention the matter before the Chief Justice for its reassignment to another bench.
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When Banerjee's counsel mentioned the matter before the court of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, he asked him to move the vacation court. The lawyer verbally prayed for an assurance that "nothing will happen" in the next two days before the matter is moved before the vacation bench, but the chief justice's bench said that it cannot do that since it does not have a determination on the subject.
The bench granted him the liberty to move the vacation bench, which will sit on Monday. Friday was the last regular working day of the High Court before the commencement of summer vacation. Justice Sinha had said in her order that a notice by the CBI issued to Banerjee was yet to be acted upon even though there is no order restraining the investigating authority to proceed with it.
She dismissed petitions by Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh, who had filed a complaint before the local police alleging that he was being pressured by central agencies to name the TMC MP, and imposed costs of Rs 25 lakhs on each of them. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had in his April 13 order said that a speech by Banerjee should be within the ambit of CBI's investigation into the complaint by Ghosh. The Soumen Nandy versus State of West Bengal case, in which the order was passed on Thursday, was transferred from the court of Justice Gangopadhyay to that of Justice Sinha by the High Court's then Acting Chief Justice on a direction by the Supreme Court.
