A plea from Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member, to travel abroad for ophthalmic treatment was rejected by a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court. The plea was made during a case where Banerjee faces accusations of delivering hate speeches before the West Bengal Assembly polls. The court advised Banerjee to first consult experts at the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.
Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, presiding over the case, declined the request for foreign travel and emphasized the importance of consulting local medical specialists. The court stated that a decision on the matter would be made after reviewing the report from S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital. Banerjee’s counsel mentioned that he had been receiving ophthalmic treatment in the US for the past decade.
Despite the plea for overseas travel, the state government counsel and the state’s additional advocate general opposed the request, citing ongoing investigations into several crucial cases, including the hate speech allegations. Justice Bhattacharya decided to instruct the head of the ophthalmology department at S.S.K.M. to form a medical board for Banerjee’s examination. The court will make a decision based on the medical report, with the next hearing scheduled for August.
While extending interim protection to Banerjee until October in the hate speech case, Justice Bhattacharya directed him to cooperate with the police investigation. Additionally, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was instructed to expedite the probe into the matter.
