Abhishek Banerjee Signature Forgery Case: Calcutta HC Orders TMC Leader to Appear Before CID Today by 6 PM Deadline 

New Delhi: The Calcutta High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee in connection with an ongoing signature forgery investigation. However, the court directed the Diamond Harbour MP to present himself at the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters by 6:00 PM today for questioning.

The single-judge bench of Justice Kausik Chanda ruled that the investigating agency cannot take any coercive action against Banerjee for the next three weeks, provided he fully cooperates with the probe. The court also observed that the CID must use standard legal processes, such as search and seizure operations, to secure relevant documents rather than compelling the petitioner to produce them.

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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