Defer Summons Against Abhishek Banerjee Till July Since You Haven't Called Him For So Long : Supreme Court To ED

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) agreed before the Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 20) to not summon Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee till July.

The ED made this concession after the Supreme Court pointed out that Banerjee has not been summoned for a long time.

The Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal noted that he had not been summoned by the agency since 2022 and was set to contest upcoming general elections. 

To recap, the petitioners (Banerjee and his wife Rujira) moved the Supreme Court against ED's summons in relation to the school jobs scam probe, which required them to appear at New Delhi ie outside their ordinary place of residence.

During the hearing, Sr Adv Kapil Sibal (appearing for petitioners) submitted that while Banerjee was last called by ED in March, 2022, Rujira was last called in September 2023. "If you have not called me since September, what is the point of calling me now?" he questioned. Sibal further informed that upon being called, both Banerjee and Rujira had gone and cooperated on two occasions.

When the Bench enquired the status of Banerjee, Sibal replied, "he is the national general secretary of the party and a member of Parliament...again contesting...constituency is Diamond Harbor...election is on 1 June". The Senior counsel followed this up with a request that the matter be taken up in July.

Taking into account the submission, Trivedi J could be heard saying to ASG SV Raju, "if you have not called him (Banerjee) for such a long time, let it remain pending". When Raju sought to take instructions, the Judge added, "since 2022 you were permitted to summon them...you have not summoned him since March 2022".

At this point, the ASG conceded that Banerjee's summons will be deferred till July. He however clarified that his submission will not apply to Rujira.

Case Title: Abhishek Banerjee and Anr. v. Directorate of Enforcement, Crl.A. No.2221-22/2023

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