Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) sought permission to file a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking protection against any coercive action by the CID over it probe with relation to the signature forgery allegations against him. The court has granted him permission. The matter may be heard later this week.
The legal team representing TMC has appealed the court challenging the case. Mr. Banerjee’s counsel reportedly argued that the senior TMC leader had no connection to the case and sought protection from any coercive action against him.
A vacation Bench of Justice Apurba Sinha Ray of the Calcutta High Court has allowed the matter to be heard on Friday (June 5), sources said.
Two TMC MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee (Uluberia Purba) and Sandipan Saha (Entally), had filed an official complaint with the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, stating that Mr. Banerjee had forged multiple signatures in a letter declaring the party choice for the Leader of Opposition as Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.
The letter, submitted by Abhishek Banerjee on May 20, to announce the party’s decisions on the LoP and Chief Whip posts for the Assembly, carried the signatures of approximately 70 MLAs approving the choice. However, nearly 12 names in these were highlighted in bold. Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha alleged that these signatures were forged, and claimed that many MLAs like them were not involved in the LoP selection process.
Minutes after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that the two TMC MLAs complaints led to the FIR and summons against Mr. Banerjee, the two MLAs were expelled from TMC.
The CID team had summoned the TMC’s second-in-command and asked him to appear in Bhawani Bhawan (WB Police headquarters) on June 1. However, he did not appear before the CID officials and asked for a 15-day extension citing health issues. CID officials had also visited his residence.
This controversy has also triggered a major rift in the Trinamool Congress with rumours of split in the party. Reports suggest around 50 MLAs had a meeting with expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and may together deflect from the party. However, Ritabrata Banerjee has no confirmed the speculations.
Senior Bharatiya Janta Party leader Tapas Roy, on the other hand, has claimed that TMC is looking at a massive split in the party and can end up in a situation like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Published - June 03, 2026 02:26 pm IST
Bengal / All India Trinamool Congress / Bharatiya Janata Party
Source: The Hindu - India News
