Calcutta HC questions Abhishek Banerjee’s reluctance to give voice samples, declines urgent hearing

Kolkata, July 7 (IANS) Legal pressure mounted on Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday after the Calcutta High Court questioned his reluctance to provide voice samples in connection with a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into an alleged hate speech case linked to the recent West Bengal Assembly elections.

The case relates to a campaign rally where Banerjee was accused of making violence-inciting remarks and allegedly threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The CID has been investigating the matter and sought his voice samples to verify the authenticity of the speech featured in the video evidence.

The development came ahead of Banerjee’s scheduled appearance before the Bidhannagar Court in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday. As per the district court’s earlier direction, he has been asked to provide his voice samples in the presence of a judicial magistrate and forensic experts.

Seeking relief before the scheduled appearance, Banerjee’s counsel moved the single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya for an urgent hearing on a petition challenging the district court’s order directing him to provide voice samples.

However, Justice Bhattacharya declined to grant an urgent hearing and questioned why the TMC leader was unwilling to cooperate with the investigation despite already enjoying interim protection from coercive police action, including arrest, granted by the Calcutta High Court till July 31.

The court also rejected the argument advanced by Banerjee’s counsel that there was no need to provide voice samples because the MP had already acknowledged that the voice heard in the campaign video was his.

Opposing the plea, the state government submitted that Banerjee’s refusal to provide voice samples reflected a lack of cooperation with the investigation. The state’s counsel argued that forensic examination of the samples was essential to establish the authenticity of the recorded speech and complete the probe.

The government further reminded the court that one of the primary conditions attached to the interim protection granted earlier was that the Trinamool MP must fully cooperate with the investigating agency. According to the prosecution, furnishing voice samples formed a crucial part of that obligation.

After hearing both sides, Justice Bhattacharya orally observed that since Banerjee was protected from any coercive action, he should cooperate with the investigators and provide his voice samples without further delay.

The court subsequently refused to hear the matter on an urgent basis and fixed July 10 as the next date for hearing Banerjee’s petition challenging the district court’s order.

–IANS

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