Factual Background

In the case of Abhishek Banerjee v. Directorate of Enforcement, an appeal was submitted by TMC leader and MP Abhishek Banerjee against a ruling permitting the CBI and ED to call him in connection with the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam case. Abhishek Banerjee’s request for respite from questioning by the CBI and ED in connection with the teacher recruitment fraud case in the State of West Bengal was denied by the court, and the CBI and ED were given permission to summon him. Abhishek Banerjee filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging its order. In a ruling, the Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the situation and instructed Abhishek Banerjee to file a petition with the High Court under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The Supreme Court also ordered the Calcutta High Court’s acting chief justice to transfer the ongoing case to another judge on the Calcutta High Court. The existing writ petitions, any applications submitted with the writ petitions, and any other applications that may be submitted, including review applications, were assigned to Justice Amrita Sinha by an assignment order.

Issue

Whether the court will consider the current revisional application

Argument Advance 

The ED protested the court hearing and said that, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the case relating to the Teacher Recruitment Scam was reallocated to a Single bench of Justice Amrita Singh.

Abhishek Banerjee’s senior attorney refuted the ED’s claim by arguing that the application was filed before a designated court that regularly exercised jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC and that the petitioner was permitted by the Supreme Court to approach this court for the quashing of the proceeding.

Analysis of court verdict 

The issue was sent to the Chief Justice of the High Court in Calcutta by a single bench led by Justice Tirthankar Ghosh to address the ED’s preliminary objection to this Court’s decision on the current revision application.

The Court noted that Justice Amrita Sinha had instructed the CBI and ED to record the names of the Investigating Officers who were looking into the Teacher Recruitment Scam case in order. The Chief Justice of the High Court in Calcutta was asked by the Court to decide the current issue.

CASE NAME – Abhishek Banerjee v. Directorate of Enforcement, C.R.R. 2653 of 2023.