Calcutta High Court on Monday held that the CBI would not be permitted to interrogate Trinamul Congress MLA Subodh Adhikari for more than three hours against a single summons as a witness in a deposit scam case.

A division bench headed by Justice I.P. Mukerji also said the CBI would have to serve a summons on a witness at least 72 hours prior to the interrogation.

The order followed after senior advocate and Trinamul Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee demanded an order from the court to the CBI not to interrogate his client Adhikari for more than three hours (against a single summons).Adhikari, the MLA of Bijpur in North 24-Parganas, was asked by the CBI to report at its office as a witness in a deposit scam case in which the agency had recently arrested Trinamul leader and Halisahar Municipality chairperson Raju Sahani for his alleged involvement.

Adhikari asked the CBI for more time and approached the high court. Sahani was arrested following a raid on his New Town flat from where the CBI reportedly recovered Rs 80 lakh in cash, an improvised pistol and papers related to a bank account in Thailand. Banerjee argued that according to the CBI rulebook, the agency must serve a summons on a person at least 72 hours prior to the interrogation.

“Moreover, the agency does not have the power to interrogate a witness for more than three hours (against a single summons),” Banerjee said.The lawyer also said the CBI should serve a summons on an accused in a case10 days before his/her scheduled day of appearance.

Banerjee said: “In several recent cases, the CBI summoned witnesses by serving short notices and arrested them after seven-eight hours of interrogation at a stretch.”The division bench accepted Banerjee’s argument and issued the order.