- Calcutta High Court denied separate voice sample protection.
- Justice Tirthankar Ghosh recused due to related case pending.
- Main case protection continues; lawyers cite potential breach of conditions.
The Calcutta High Court did not grant Abhishek Banerjee any separate protection in the case relating to the collection of his voice sample.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh also chose to recuse himself from hearing the matter after it was pointed out that the petition seeking the quashing of the FIR in the same case is already pending before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya.
The matter will now be placed before the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court for further directions.
Protection In Main Case Continues
While the court declined to pass any separate order in the voice sample matter, the protection granted to Abhishek Banerjee in the main case remains in force.
However, lawyers say the latest developments have created a potential legal complication.
Lawyers Point To Conditions Attached To Earlier Protection
According to lawyers, when Justice Saugata Bhattacharya granted protection to Abhishek Banerjee in the main case, the order clearly required him to cooperate fully with the investigation.
They said the order also gave the police the liberty to approach the Calcutta High Court if he failed to cooperate, seeking withdrawal of the protection granted to him.
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Lawyers argued that Abhishek Banerjee had been asked to provide his voice sample on Wednesday but did not comply with the police notice. They contend that this could be viewed as a breach of the condition attached to the court’s protection.
They further said that the state or the police can now approach the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya, arguing that the conditions under which protection was granted have not been followed and seeking withdrawal of that protection. According to the lawyers, the police can also request the High Court to grant them the authority to arrest him.
Why Justice Tirthankar Ghosh Stepped Aside
During the hearing, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh asked whether the petition seeking to quash the original FIR was already pending before another bench.
After being informed that the matter was pending before Justice Saugata Bhattacharya, who had also granted interim protection to Abhishek Banerjee, Justice Ghosh observed that hearing different aspects of the same case before two separate benches could create complications.
He subsequently recused himself from the matter, following which the case was referred back to the Chief Justice for appropriate assignment.
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