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The Supreme Court bench said the petitioner could avail himself of the remedies available under the law (File photo/ANI)
The Supreme Court bench said it would refrain from intervening in the matter disputed by the Calcutta High Court
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere in the CBI and Enforcement Directorate’s investigation against Transitional Military Council leader Abhishek Banerjee into an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal, saying it could not steal the investigation into the case.
Bench Justices DY Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha allowed Banerjee to avail himself of the remedies available under the law but refused to interfere with the May 18 order of the Calcutta High Court.
We will not interfere with the impugned matter as this would impede the investigation. The petitioner can avail himself of the remedies available under the law,” the council said.
On May 26, the imposition of a cost of Rs 25 lakhs on Banerjee was stayed by the Supreme Court which rejected his petition to recall its previous order that CBI and ED can cross-examine him in West Bengal school job fraud cases.
But the Supreme Court did not overturn the part of the Supreme Court order which said central investigative agencies could question the Secretary General of the Trinamool Congress in connection with these cases.
Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of TMC Chairman and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.
The Kolkata High Court has rejected a petition by Banerjee, the Lok Sabha MP, requesting recall of its previous writ which said investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could cross-examine it in the fraud-related case.
On 28 April, the Acting Chief Justice of Kolkata High Court was asked by the Supreme Court to reassign the West Bengal School jobs fraud case to another judge, days after he expressed his displeasure over Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s interview to a TV news channel where he spoke of the heated controversy.
Banerjee, who was questioned on May 20 for more than nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has sought a direction from the Supreme Court that no coercive steps should be taken against him by the investigation agency.
The TMC leader’s name appeared in a complaint filed by Kuntal Ghosh, a local businessman and accused in the school job fraud cases, in which he alleged that central investigative agencies were pressuring him to name Banerjee in the case.
The agency’s summons of Banerjee came within 24 hours of the Calcutta High Court rejecting a petition he filed seeking to recall an earlier court order that said investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could question him in the teacher recruitment fraud case.
Banerjee alleged that while TMC leaders who were unwilling to bow were harassed, BJP leaders who were involved in various issues were allowed out of jail.
The MP from Diamond Harbor was questioned twice by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) twice in the case of coal theft at the agency’s office in the national capital in 2021 and also in Kolkata in 2022.
While the CBI investigates the criminal side of school job fraud cases, the CEO is looking into tracing funds involved in alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment in West Bengal.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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