Signature forgery: HC to hear Abhishek’s plea on Thursday

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday said it will hear on Thursday Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s plea seeking protection from any coercive action by the state CID over its probe into alleged forgery of party MLAs’ signatures.

Moving the court of Justice Kausik Chanda, the TMC leader’s advocate Kalyan Banerjee sought an urgent hearing, saying that the Diamond Harbour MP’s office was raided by the CID on Tuesday in his absence.

Justice Chanda said that the petition will be heard on Thursday. The Diamond Harbour MP moved the court seeking protection from any coercive action by the CID and quashing of the FIR in the signature forgery case against him. The CID is conducting the probe based on a complaint by two legislators to the Assembly Secretariat that their signatures in the TMC’s resolution for appointing Ballygunge MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the opposition were forged.

The Assembly Secretariat filed an FIR with the Kolkata Police over the complaint by the MLAs — Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha — and the probe was later transferred to the CID by the state’s home secretary.

The legislators were later expelled from the TMC for “anti-party activities”.