Kolkata, July 3 (IANS) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday extended the interim protection from coercive police action, including arrest, for Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee in the ongoing CID probe into the West Bengal legislators’ signature mismatch case.

However, while granting the extension till July 17 in the case of mismatches in the signatures of some Trinamool Congress legislators on a crucial signature on some crucial appointments in the West Bengal Assembly, which are reserved for the opposition bench, the single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh also directed Abhishek, also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to continue extending full cooperation to CID’s ongoing probe in the matter.

The CID initiated the investigation in May this year after complaints surfaced regarding alleged mismatches in the signatures of certain Trinamool Congress MLAs on a resolution submitted to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose.

The document had proposed the appointment of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandopadhyay as Deputy Leaders of the Opposition, and Firhad Hakim as the Chief Whip of the Trinamool Legislature Party in the Assembly.

The alleged discrepancies were first flagged by Trinamool Congress legislators Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, prompting the CID to launch a formal inquiry. Soon after the allegations emerged, Trinamool Congress suspended Banerjee and Saha.

The development triggered a revolt by 60 legislators led by the officially recognised Leader of the Opposition, who submitted a fresh resolution claiming majority support within the Trinamool Legislative Party.

The Speaker subsequently accepted the new resolution, following which Ritabrata Banerjee was formally recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

On Thursday, the “rival but majority” faction in Trinamool Congress’s legislative party in West Bengal met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI), staking claim on the right over the party’s name and election symbol.

Abhishek Banerjee had been questioned twice by the CID sleuths in the matter at the agency’s headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan in South Kolkata. Abhishek had also announced that he would continue with his cooperation in the investigation process.

–IANS

src/dan