Calcutta HC rejects Abhishek’s petition to fast-track hearing on foreign travel plea

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday declined Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee's request for an expedited hearing on his plea seeking permission to travel abroad for specialised ophthalmic treatment.

A single-judge bench of justice Saugata Bhattacharya rejected the application for a fast-track hearing, observing that there was no justification for giving the matter urgent consideration. The court said the petition would be heard in the normal course.

Banerjee, nephew of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, had approached the high court on Tuesday seeking permission to travel overseas for treatment related to a serious eye injury he suffered in a road accident nearly a decade ago. Alongside the main petition, he also sought an urgent hearing, citing medical requirements.

However, justice Bhattacharya's bench made it clear that while the plea for overseas travel had been admitted, the request for an accelerated hearing would not be entertained.

The development comes against the backdrop of an ongoing probe into the MLA signature mismatch case, in which Banerjee was recently questioned twice by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police following directions from the high court.

The case pertains to alleged discrepancies in the signatures of several Trinamool Congress legislators on a key assembly resolution linked to appointments for positions reserved for the opposition benches.

Earlier, a separate single-judge bench headed by justice Kaushik Chanda had granted Banerjee interim protection from coercive action, including arrest, in connection with the case. The relief, however, came with specific conditions, one of which barred him from travelling abroad without prior permission from the court.

It was under this restriction that Banerjee moved the latest petition seeking judicial approval for foreign travel.

The TMC leader has a long history of treatment for an eye injury sustained in October 2016 when his vehicle met with an accident while returning to Kolkata from a party programme in Murshidabad district. The accident left him with serious injuries to one of his eyes, requiring treatment at multiple hospitals in India before he later sought specialised care abroad.

While the high court's refusal to fast-track the matter delays an immediate decision on his travel plans, Banerjee's primary plea seeking permission for overseas medical treatment remains pending before the court.

With IANS inputs