Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday for questioning in the alleged teachers’ recruitment scam, hours after the Supreme Court gave him relief in the case.
CBI sources told CNN-News18 that the Supreme Court order supersedes any summons issued by the investigating officer. “The summons may have been formalised and dispatched before a copy of the SC stay reached the IO. As soon as the SC order copy is furnished, the summons will cease to be operational; that is the norm,” said an official.
Terming the action of the agency “contempt of court”, Banerjee tweeted on the matter.
In its desperation to ‘harass’ and ‘target’ me, BJP EXPOSES CBI & ED to CONTEMPT OF COURT!SC stayed the Calcutta HC’s order in the morn that granted permission to the Central Agencies to summon me.
Yet, the ‘SUMMON’ was HAND-DELIVERED today at 1:45 pm
Grave State of affairs! pic.twitter.com/p7wVT4Eycq
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) April 17, 2023
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, which decided to hear the plea on April 24, had stayed the direction of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court that Abhishek Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the so-called SSC scam case, can be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI, and such “interrogation should be made soon”.
The stay was granted at around 11.15am.
“The petition was in the mentioning list. Dr AM Singhvi has adverted to the contents of the order and the directions passed by which the ED and CBI have been directed to file a report with respect to a probe in connection with a public speech by Abhishek Banerjee. List on April 24, 2023. Till the next date of listing, there shall be stay on all action against petitioner in relation to the directions passed in impugned order,” the SC ordered.
The Calcutta High Court on April 13 had passed a slew of directions, asking the police not to lodge FIRs on complaints against officers of the CBI or the ED who are investigating the teachers’ recruitment scam.
It had asked the central agencies to probe the role of state TMC leaders in the case.
The Supreme Court also stayed Justice Gangopadhyay’s April 13 direction to West Bengal police to not lodge any FIR against CBI and ED officers probing the SSC scam.
The Trinamool Congress appears to be in the mood to turn the summons issue into a political point. Banerjee has also decided to move court.
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The summons have 16th as the date of issuing. They might have reached him (Abhishek) late…Why are they making it a big issue?”
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment