Kolkata, 15 October (H.S.) : The Calcutta High Court has dealt a setback to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee by refusing to grant an urgent hearing for his petition against the publication of confidential investigation details in the media. On Thursday, his counsel, Ayan Bhattacharya, drew the court's attention to the matter, requesting an expedited hearing. He argued that while the court had scheduled the hearing for December, news reports concerning the investigation against his client were being published almost daily. The counsel urged that if an immediate hearing was not feasible, the matter should be assigned to a vacation bench.

Justice Bhattacharya rejected the request, firmly stating that the vacation bench is not a dumping ground where all pending cases can be sent. The court noted that the matter was previously heard by Justice Krishna Rao's bench and subsequently reached the current bench via a division bench, clarifying that an urgent hearing was impossible under the present circumstances.

Banerjee had filed the petition alleging that personal information and sensitive questions asked during interrogations were being deliberately leaked to the press. In recent days, he has faced investigations by the police and the CID on various charges, enduring hours of questioning by the agencies. He claimed that the specific questions asked by investigators, such as those during his interrogation at Bhabani Bhavan on June 11, were subsequently broadcasted by media outlets. Earlier, his counsel had argued in court that the media was publishing speculative and sensational reports, including misleading information about his foreign travels, personal life, and marital status, which had no direct relevance to the ongoing investigations. The petition emphasized that such irresponsible reporting is a severe violation of Banerjee's fundamental rights to privacy, dignity, and reputation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh