The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing of the 'Signgate' case, in which Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee is an accused, due to the absence of state government lawyers. The court is now likely to hear the matter on Thursday. Additionally, the bench refused to grant an urgent hearing to the TMC regarding the recent raids conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the party office in connection with the alleged signature scam.
CID Raids at TMC Party Office
On Tuesday, a team from the CID conducted a search at the TMC party office located in Kalighat, which is adjacent to the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Senior advocate Kishore Datta, representing the TMC, submitted before the court that the search was carried out on June 9 without a valid search warrant. He further alleged that officials were detained at the scene, no independent witness was present, and documents were scanned and taken away without proper procedure.
Court's Stance on Urgent Hearing
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, however, refused to grant an urgent hearing on the matter, stating that it would proceed in the normal course. This comes after the vacation bench of Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) had earlier fixed the 'Signgate' case for hearing on Wednesday, June 5. Justice Kaushik Chanda, who presided over the case on Wednesday, directed Banerjee to serve a notice to the state government to ensure its counsels are present in court for future hearings.
Background of the Case
Abhishek Banerjee had challenged the summons issued by the CID and sought protection in the signature forgery case. He was summoned to appear at Bhawani Bhawan on June 1, June 8, and June 9, but the MP did not comply with any of the summons. According to his legal team, he responded that he was unwell and was in Delhi, requesting additional time to appear.
CID's Justification for Questioning
CID officers, meanwhile, explained the necessity of questioning Abhishek Banerjee. An investigator stated, "His statement is crucial in uncovering the full sequence of events regarding the forged signature case. We have collected handwriting samples from several legislators who said they did not sign the letter, although it was on his letterhead."
According to the CID, the letter submitted by the TMC national general secretary to the assembly speaker, which bore the signatures of 70 MLAs, listed the address as 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street. Investigators had visited the Trinamool office to locate the office copy of the resolution. "Where is that copy now? Who took it, and who removed it? These are the answers we are seeking from Abhishek," said police officials.
Video Evidence Collected by CID
The CID stated that they have videographed the entire sequence of events, including the serving of three notices to Abhishek Banerjee and the search at the party office on Harish Chatterjee Street. Sources indicated that the recordings will be submitted in court if required.
