The Supreme Court has agreed to hear TMC Leader Abhishek Banerjee plea against the Calcutta High Court’s order dismissing his plea to recall the order granting the CBI and ED liberty to interrogate him in the West Bengal teachers recruitment scam.
After Senior Advocate AM Singhvi mentioned the appeal, a vacation bench comprised of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sanjay Karol listed the matter for 26th May, 2023.
Advocate Singhvi contended that the central investigating agency had contacted Banerjee while he was campaigning outside of the state.
“My lords he’s in Darjeeling and they’re asking him to be questioned. He’s campaigning outside the state. Any date this week may be granted. Also concerning the costs imposed against him, we’re appealing that too,” Singhvi stated.
The Calcutta High Court dismissed Banerjee’s petition last week in a strongly worded order. It stated that Banerjee, as the leader of the ruling political party, should not avoid the investigation process. He was, however, fighting tooth and nail to prevent an investigation into the West Bengal teacher’s recruitment scam case.
A single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha observed that instead of avoiding or running away from the entire process, he should put himself to the test and come out clean. According to the Court, the State machinery, particularly the police, appears to be on the side of the accused.
While hearing a petition about the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, a single-judge Justice Gangopadhyay asked the ED and CBI to interrogate Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh.
The judge considered a letter written by expelled Trinamool leader Kuntal Ghosh, in which he claimed he was being pressured to implicate Banerjee in the recruitment scam.
In one of his public speeches, Banerjee also claimed that several incarcerated people were being forced to implicate him in the case.
The Top Court temporarily stayed the April 13 order on April 17, and on April 28 directed the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to reassign the case involving the West Bengal Primary Teachers’ Recruitment Scam to another judge.
