Abhishek Banerjee Signature Forgery Case: 'Bhaipo' Arrives at CID Headquarters in Kolkata Just Ahead of High Court's 6 PM Deadline

New Delhi:  Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee arrived at the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters at Bhabani Bhaban in Alipore, Kolkata, on Thursday afternoon, complying with a high-stakes directive from the Calcutta High Court.

Earlier in the day, a single-judge bench of Justice Kausik Chanda granted the Diamond Harbour MP interim protection from arrest for the next three weeks in connection with an ongoing signature forgery investigation. However, the protection was strictly conditional upon his full cooperation, starting with a mandatory appearance before state investigators before a strict 6:00 PM deadline today.

Banerjee, who flew into Kolkata from New Delhi at around 4:00 PM, drove straight to the CID headquarters to face questioning.

The state home department had previously transferred the case to the CID following complaints filed by two legislators with the Assembly Secretariat. The dispute centers on an official resolution submitted to the Assembly Speaker recommending senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition. The document allegedly bore the forged signatures of several party MLAs who later claimed they never attended the meeting or authorised the use of their signatures.

The controversy has deepened internal political friction within the TMC, occurring just weeks after the party suffered a significant defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

During the high-stakes hearing, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar, representing the state, strongly opposed granting interim relief. The state argued that custodianship was necessary due to critical timeline discrepancies. 

According to the prosecution, the disputed resolution indicated that legislators signed the document on May 6, while Banerjee’s formal communication to the Speaker was dated May 9. Furthermore, when the Assembly Secretariat requested the official minutes, the TMC leadership reportedly claimed the signatures were collected during a later meeting on May 19.

The state counsel further contended that the investigation was exploring whether Banerjee’s role had escalated from a witness to a primary participant, noting that the MP did not possess the original copy of the disputed resolution.

Defending the TMC leader, senior counsel Ayan Bhattacharya argued that procedural irregularities or backdated signatures do not automatically constitute criminal forgery. The defense maintained that Banerjee did not attend the specific meeting where the resolution was finalized and acted solely in his capacity as General Secretary to deliver the document to the Speaker.

The High Court’s intervention follows heightened activity by state investigators, including a recent CID search operation conducted at a TMC party office located on the premises of party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence. The MP’s legal team informed the court that Banerjee was scheduled to arrive in Kolkata from New Delhi at approximately 4:00 PM and would comply with the court's strict 6:00 PM deadline to report to the CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhaban.

The court has directed the CID to submit a comprehensive progress report on the investigation within two weeks, with the next hearing scheduled to take place in 14 days.

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