MLA Signature Mismatch Case: Calcutta HC Extends Protection To Abhishek Banerjee

The Calcutta High Court on Monday extended interim protection from coercive police action, including arrest, to Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee in the case involving alleged signature forgery of legislators. A single-judge bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda extended the protection until November 30. The matter concerns an ongoing investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police.

The CID is investigating allegations that signatures of several MLAs were forged on an official document submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker. During Monday’s hearing, the state’s Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar told the court that forensic examination had established that the signatures of three legislators on the document were forged.

Majumdar informed the court that the document contained signatures of 70 legislators, while complaints had been raised regarding the alleged forgery of five signatures. According to the state’s submission, forensic examination confirmed that three of those five signatures were forged. The prosecution is examining the circumstances in which the document was prepared, signed and subsequently submitted to the Assembly Speaker.

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The state counsel further alleged that the signature forgery took place in the presence of Abhishek Banerjee. He argued that no resolution had actually been adopted on May 6, despite the document recording that a resolution had been passed on that date. According to the state’s submission, the legislators were not asked to sign the resolution on May 6 and the document was actually signed on May 19 before being sent to the Speaker.

The state also submitted that five MLAs had provided statements alleging that their signatures were forged. The forensic findings regarding three signatures were cited as supporting the allegations under investigation. The CID is continuing to examine the document, statements and other evidence as part of its probe into how the alleged discrepancies occurred.

Despite the allegations presented by the state, the High Court observed that, at the preliminary stage, it was not inclined to find that Abhishek Banerjee was involved in the alleged signature forgery. The court nevertheless extended his interim protection from coercive action until November 30, allowing the investigation to continue. The case will come up for further consideration as the probe progresses.

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