Kolkata, July 3 (IANS) A single-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected a plea by Trinamool Congress’ General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, for a fast-track hearing on his petition seeking exemption from providing a voice sample to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police.

The CID seeks to collect Abhishek Banerjee’s voice samples in the case where he is accused of making inciting statements and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a campaign rally before the recently-concluded Assembly polls in the state.

Earlier, on June 30, Calcutta High Court’s single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh refused to entertain a plea by Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.

Justice Ghosh also observed that the court could not determine the course and style of investigation that will be carried out by any probe agency.

Since Justice Ghosh recused himself from further hearing in the matter after that order, on Friday, Abhishek Banerjee’s counsel approached another single-judge Bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya and sought a fast-track hearing in the matter.

However, the plea for a fast-track hearing in the matter was turned down by the Bench of Justice Bhattacharyya too, who clearly said that under no circumstance the matter could be heard before July 7.

Meanwhile, after Justice Ghosh refused to entertain the plea for exemption from giving voice samples, a district court in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal on July 1 issued a second notice to Abhishek Banerjee, asking him to appear at the same court by 10 A.M. on July 8 so that the CID officials could collect his voice samples in presence of a Judicial Magistrate and forensic experts.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Justice Bhattacharyya will grant him exemption from giving voice samples at the hearing on July 7, which is just a day before his scheduled appearance at the district court in the matter.

Abhishek Banerjee has been given interim protection from coercive police action including arrest in the matter as directed by Justice Bhattacharyya’s Bench earlier.

However, while granting him the interim protection last month, Justice Bhattacharyya’s Bench also directed the leader to fully cooperate with the investigating agency and directed the CID to inform the court if the Trinamool Congress General Secretary did not extend necessary cooperation in the probe.

–IANS

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