The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim protection to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, directing the West Bengal Police not to take any coercive action against him in relation to three criminal cases registered between May 27 and June 16. The court simultaneously instructed state authorities to present a comprehensive list of all pending First Information Reports (FIRs) currently filed against him.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya issued the order following a petition submitted by Banerjee, who alleged that a string of criminal cases had been instituted against him following the recent change of government in the state. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Banerjee, submitted that the complaints stemmed from events spanning back several years— including allegations concerning cyclone Amphan relief distribution and illegal mining activities. He contended that the FIRs did not establish any prima facie case of an offence against his client and pointed out the considerable delay in filing these FIRs.
In response to the plea, the state, appearing through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, contended that it was not possible to challenge multiple FIRs together through one petition. It was further contended that the case of protection against arrest should have been raised by way of anticipatory bail petitions, and that delay in filing of the complaint does not make the criminal investigation invalid especially when the victim has stayed away from complaining because of prior reasons.
The Court’s interim order confined itself to only those three FIRs referred to in the petition and the next date was fixed on August 6.
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