Abhishek Banerjee Can Be Arrested Anytime: Madhya HC Lifts Stay On Arrest Warrant In Defamation Case

Kolkata: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday lifted the stay on the arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, paving way for his arrest in a defamation case.

The defamation case against Abhishek Banerjee had been filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya's son Akash in 2021. According to the complaint, Abhishek Banerjee had referred to Akash Vijayvargiya as a “goon” while addressing a rally in Kolkata, West Bengal, in 2020.

Akash is a former MLA from Indore.

Following the complaint, the Bhopal MP-MLA court issued an arrest warrant against Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A stay on the warrant was issued in November 2025.

Banerjee had argued in his petition that he being a parliamentarian was unlikely to abscond.

However, at the hearing at the Madhya Pradesh High Court today (Wednesday), no one appeared on his behalf in the court. Noting the absence, the court lifted the stay on his arrest warrant.

The court's order has mounted concerns for Banerjee, who is also facing questioning over the multi-crore primary school recruitment scam in West Bengal. The ED is conducting an ongoing money laundering investigation into severe irregularities and cash-for-jobs allegations within the state's primary education system. 

Following his ED appearance, Abhishek Banerjee said, “I was questioned for 8 to 8.5 hours yesterday and for 11 hours today. This is a 2023 case, and I have appeared before the agency 10 to 12 times. I won't comment on whether there is political pressure. The less said about the BJP, the better. On one side, they break our party and indulge in post-poll violence. Even if you slit my throat, I won’t back down. I will appear before the agency if they summon me in the future.”

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