The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI and the ED to question Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary and party Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee in primary teachers recruitment scam. He is also the nephew of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
The High Court had on April 13 said if the agencies did not question Banerjee within a short time, it would be compelled to pass certain orders, which may be unsavory to them.
Upon a mentioning made by senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, a bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, ordered that till the next date of listing, there shall be a stay on all action against the petitioner in relation to the directions passed in impugned order.
The court fixed the matter for consideration on April 24.
The High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had passed the order on April 13 on a plea made by the ED alleging that one accused Kuntal Ghosh arrested in the primary teachers recruitment scam had made a complaint with the local police against the ED and the CBI officers.
The court said it is a matter to be enquired and investigated whether Kuntal Ghosh took the cue from the public speech of Abhishek Banerjee for which both of them can be interrogated both by ED and by CBI and such interrogation should be made soon.
Expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh had alleged that the central agency sleuths are putting pressure on him to name Abhishek Banerjee in the multi-crore scam in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools in West Bengal.