Kolkata, 15 July (H.S.): The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the office of the Director General of Police (DGP), West Bengal, to submit a detailed report on all criminal cases and First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee across the state.

The direction was issued by the single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya after Banerjee's counsel sought clarity on the total number of criminal cases and FIRs pending against his client at various police stations in West Bengal.

During the hearing, Banerjee's counsel argued that his client, being a political leader, had been subjected to multiple criminal cases allegedly out of political vendetta. The counsel informed the court that they were aware of eight FIRs registered against Banerjee but were uncertain about the total number of pending cases. They requested a comprehensive report before advancing further arguments.

The state government opposed the claim of political vendetta, contending that every case registered against the Diamond Harbour MP was based on specific complaints and could not be termed politically motivated.

After hearing both sides, Justice Bhattacharya directed the DGP's office to submit a detailed report specifying the total number of cases and FIRs registered against Abhishek Banerjee across the state. The court also sought a separate report detailing the nature and subject matter of the eight FIRs already known to have been registered against him.

The matter is scheduled to be heard again on July 22, by which time the DGP's office has been directed to place the required report before the court.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey