TMC MP ABHISHEK BANERJEE, WIFE MOVE HC AGAINST ED SUMMONS
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira on Friday moved the Delhi high court, seeking quashing of summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its probe into an alleged coal fraud case.
In their petition, Banerjee and Rujira have sought direction to the agency to not summon them to New Delhi and carry out investigation in Kolkata, stating they are permanent residents of the city and that the case pertains to West Bengal.
According to the petition, ED on September 10 issued fresh summons to Banerjee under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 requiring his personal appearance along with a voluminous set of documents on September 21 in New Delhi.
Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and a Lok Sabha MP, appeared before ED on September 6 in New Delhi on a summons by the agency.
He was summoned by ED again on September 21 in New Delhi after he did not visit the agency’s office on September 8, saying he was unable to travel at a short notice. Rujira, who had also been summoned by the agency in the first week of September, did not go as well, writing to ED that being a mother, she cannot travel at such short notice and requested the agency to question her at her residence in Kolkata.
The petition, which is likely to be heard on September 21, said a greater degree of protection is granted to a woman under Section 160 of the CRPC, which mandates that she shall not be required to attend any place other than where she resides.