The Supreme Court of India (SC) has delivered a significant ruling, rejecting a plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife, Rujira Banerjee, challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) summons. The ED is investigating a money laundering case connected to alleged irregularities in recruitment processes within West Bengal schools.
The Banerjee couple had argued that they should be summoned to Kolkata, their home city, instead of New Delhi, where the ED investigation is being conducted. However, the SC bench, comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, ruled against their plea. The judgment was reserved on August 13th and delivered today, September 9th.
The ED’s investigation into Abhishek Banerjee extends beyond the school recruitment case. He is also under scrutiny for his alleged involvement in a multi-crore coal pilferage scam involving Eastern Coalfields mines in Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol.
This decision from the Supreme Court is likely to further intensify political tensions in West Bengal, where the TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is locked in a fierce rivalry with the ruling BJP at the national level. The ED’s investigations into various alleged corruption cases involving TMC leaders have been seen as a tool by the BJP to weaken the TMC’s political base in the state.
