Top News

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee suffered a major setback from the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday. The court flatly refused to grant him permission to travel abroad for eye treatment and dismissed his petition seeking the same.

During the hearing, Justice Saugata Bhattacharya initially proposed that Banerjee’s eye condition be evaluated by a special medical board at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. The court believed this would clarify whether treatment was possible within India. The court also stated that Banerjee’s medical request should be evaluated considering that he is currently facing several serious criminal cases and ongoing investigations.

If treatment is possible in India, why is there a desire to travel abroad?

According to a Bar & Bench report, the High Court took a firm stance and indicated that it was unwilling to grant Abhishek Banerjee permission to travel abroad until a medical assessment of his eye condition was conducted in India. Since Banerjee was unwilling to undergo such an evaluation by a medical board in India, the court dismissed his petition.

The court stated in its observation that the applicant’s lawyer had made it clear that he did not wish to appear before any local medical board despite the court’s directive. In such circumstances, the court believes that this petition cannot be kept pending any longer and is therefore dismissed.

Several criminal cases are registered against Abhishek Banerjee

This petition seeking permission to travel abroad by Abhishek Banerjee comes at a sensitive time when political turmoil is rife in West Bengal, with several FIRs filed against him. In addition to these cases, he also faces charges for allegedly making inflammatory and objectionable remarks during the election campaign. Banerjee has, however, filed several petitions to have these cases dismissed and has been granted interim protection in some of these cases.

As a condition of the interim relief granted in an election- speech case, Abhishek Banerjee was prohibited from leaving the country without the High Court’s permission. He later appealed to the court for permission to travel abroad, citing better eye treatment. Last month, the High Court also refused to grant him immediate permission to travel abroad, stating that such permission would be granted only if SSKM Hospital confirmed in writing that his treatment in Kolkata was not possible. Following this, Banerjee approached the Supreme Court, which on August 3rd directed that the High Court would make the final decision.

The court made a strong remark, saying, “Trust the country’s doctors.”

Senior advocate Rebecca John, representing Abhishek Banerjee, told the court that he only wanted to travel abroad for a limited period for eye treatment. He argued that he is an MP holding a diplomatic passport, and therefore his every move is monitored. His family lives here in the country, and he has returned from abroad several times before. He requested the court to grant him permission to travel this time as well, subject to strict conditions.

To this, Justice Bhattacharya sharply questioned, “Is it absolutely necessary to have eye treatment only abroad? If this treatment is available in our own country, then there is no need to go abroad. Even respected Supreme Court judges are being treated in our own hospitals. Our country is second to none in terms of medical science.” However, the lawyer responded that Banerjee has already been receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, and that this is his personal choice. After hearing all the arguments, the court refused to allow him to travel abroad without a medical examination in India.