Kolkata: In a major development, the Calcutta High Court has directed the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to investigate role of TMC's General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee in primary teachers recruitment scam within a short time or it would compelled to pass certain orders, which may be unsavory to the investigating agencies.
Further, the High Court also issued a blanket direction that no police station shall lodge any FIR against any complaint made to it in respect of any officer of CBI and ED who are investigating the educational recruitment scam both of West Bengal Central School Service Commission and the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, without the leave of this court.
Abhishek Banerjee is nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and is seen as hair apparent to the ruling party.
A single judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay passed this order on April 13 on a plea made by the ED that one accused Kuntal Ghosh arrested in the primary teachers recruitment scam had made a complaint with the local police against the ED and the CBI officers.
"Here I take note of one public meeting held by one Abhishek Banerjee on 29.03.2023 where he urged some persons to support him by saying that when those persons were in custody, police or the interrogating agencies pressurized them to name said Abhishek Banerjee. The complaint of Kuntal Ghosh was made in close proximity with the said public speech of said Abhishek Banerjee on 29th March, 2023 as Kuntal made the first complaint on 31.03.2023 before the CBI Court and on 01.04.2023 before the Hastings Police Station," the judge said.
The court said it is a matter to be enquired and investigated whether Kuntal Ghosh took the cue from the public speech of said Abhishek Banerjee for which both of them can be interrogated both by ED and by CBI and such interrogation should be made soon.
"Terrorizing the investigating officers of investigating agency by complaint before the Police authority is wholly unwarranted and such endeavors are to be stopped forthwith otherwise the officers of the investigating agencies will not be able to act in a fearless mind and in view of such oversmart action which is rising in this state the court should give some immunity to the officers. Keeping this in mind I hold that such interrogation should be made in such a situation," the judge said, in his detailed order.
The court said the allegations of Kuntal was that the investigating agencies were trying to force him to name Abhishek Banerjee.
"This same tune was heard from said Abhishek Banerjee in his public meeting on 29.03.2023. This matching tune raises a serious doubt in my mind as to a tacitunderstanding between them as when this Kuntal was selling school teachers job both Kuntal and Abhishek were in the same political party," the judge said.
"Here I must say that from the submissions made before this court and from the reports filed by the investigating agencies, I find that if the whole scam is considered a human body CBI and ED have reached maximum up to the waist of the body in this investigation and the heart and the head are yet to be touched. I believe, the heart and the head of the whole body would be touched and thorough interrogation would be done. If it is not done within a short time by the investigating agencies, this court will be compelled to pass certain orders may be unsavory to the investigating agencies," the judge added.
Finding the letter by Ghosh as "exaggerated and full of embellishment", the bench said, it has become a sinister design of some persons to make allegations against the investigating officers of different scams to terrorise them by using the police force which have now come to light in the State.
"I see this letter of Kuntal Ghosh is also an attempt to terrorize the officers of ED and CBI and to throttle the investigation process and I term it as very smart action; which cannot be allowed for a fair investigation and for the ends of justice," the judge said.
The bench directed that the letter by Ghosh shall not be given effect to in any manner whatsoever until further order.
The court directed the ED and the CBI to file report of their investigation into this matter, if necessary with the video recordings on April 20, 2023, the next date of hearing.
"All the aspects which have been indicated including the public speech of one Abhishek Banerjee, should also not be outside the investigation of CBI and if necessary, by ED," it ordered.
