The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday extended till August 31 the interim protection from arrest granted to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in three criminal proceedings pending against him.
The court also fixed August 25 for passing its final order on Banerjee’s petition seeking quashing of the three FIRs registered against him.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya extended the protection till August 31 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Three FIRs at centre of plea
The three FIRs were registered at Bhowanipore on May 27, and at Kalitala and Bishnupur on June 16.
On July 30, the court had granted Banerjee protection from arrest until August 17. On his lawyer’s request, police authorities were also directed to provide copies of all FIRs registered against the Diamond Harbour MP.
The state told the court on August 6 that 16 FIRs were pending against Banerjee at different police stations across West Bengal over various allegations.
Complainant calls Banerjee ‘super-influential’
Opposing Banerjee’s plea for protection, complainant Abhijit Das’ counsel Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee argued that the TMC leader is “super-influential”.
Chatterjee claimed that keeping Banerjee out of custody could affect the investigation, alleging that witnesses could be intimidated or prevented from appearing before trial courts. He also sought police protection for Das, claiming that his client could otherwise get “murdered”.
The court, however, verbally questioned whether Banerjee continued to wield such influence following the change in the ruling dispensation in West Bengal.
Court refers to demolition of MP office
Justice Bhattacharyya referred to the demolition of Banerjee’s MP office at Amtala, saying the development did not support the argument that he remained “super-influential”.
The demolition had been stalled by the high court during a special sitting on a Sunday. The judge also questioned whether such action could have been taken before the current government came to power.
Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra said the building on Diamond Harbour Road did not have a sanctioned plan and was not owned by Banerjee.
Banerjee cites Suvendu Adhikari case
Seeking continued protection, Banerjee’s lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan referred to the high court’s October 2025 decision to quash 13 FIRs against Suvendu Adhikari, who was then Leader of the Opposition.
He said Banerjee was cooperating with the investigation and would continue to do so.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju opposed both the quashing plea and interim protection, arguing that an FIR disclosing a cognisable offence cannot be quashed at the threshold and that the investigation was still at a nascent stage.