Supreme Court sends Abhishek Banerjee’s foreign travel plea back to Calcutta High Court
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee suffered a legal setback on Monday after the Supreme Court declined to entertain his plea seeking permission to travel abroad for eye treatment, instead directing the Calcutta High Court to hear and decide the matter within one week.
Banerjee had approached the apex court after the Calcutta High Court refused to allow him to travel overseas for medical treatment and advised him to undergo an examination at Kolkata’s SSKM Hospital. Challenging that order, he moved the Supreme Court.
Appearing for Banerjee, senior advocate Gopal Shankar Narayan argued that the MP is facing more than 1,500 legal cases and that restrictions on his foreign travel due to ongoing proceedings could adversely affect his medical treatment. He also pointed out that Banerjee had previously been permitted by courts to travel abroad for treatment.
After hearing the submissions, Chief Justice Surya Kant stated that the matter should be decided by the Calcutta High Court. The Supreme Court directed the High Court to determine within one week whether Banerjee should be allowed to travel overseas for his eye treatment.
The case stems from Banerjee’s application before the Calcutta High Court seeking permission to travel abroad for specialized eye care. During a hearing on July 20, Justice Sougata Bhattacharyya observed that Banerjee had not first explored treatment options in Kolkata.
The judge had remarked that the court could consider allowing overseas treatment only if adequate medical care was unavailable locally. He suggested that Banerjee undergo an examination at SSKM Hospital and that a medical board be constituted. If the board concluded that treatment abroad was medically necessary, the court would have no objection to granting permission.
Although the High Court’s single bench extended Banerjee’s interim legal protection until October 6, it declined to permit his foreign travel. Instead of challenging that order before a division bench of the High Court, Banerjee approached the Supreme Court directly.
His counsel argued that Banerjee had fully cooperated with the investigation in the related case, including providing a voice sample, and that the High Court had not granted relief on his medical request. However, the Supreme Court chose not to intervene and directed the High Court to decide the matter expeditiously.