Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee may have put up a front in declaring his intention to face CBI examination in connection with the recruitment scam case keeping his grassroots outreach campaign temporarily at bay. But if the Calcutta High Court order which dismissed his petition to recall Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s earlier order allowing central agencies to include him in the scam probe is anything to go by, then the Trinamul leader appears to have had little choice but to comply with the summons.

“It appears from the prayers made in the applications that recalling has been sought only for the portion of the order where direction has been passed for causing investigation of the involvement of the applicants. The applicants do not appear to be bothered by the investigation per se. It is only where direction has been passed to investigate their involvement, that the applicants oppose the same,” the order from Justice Amrita Sinha, the reassigned Bench which took up Banerjee’s appeal, read.

“The conduct of the applicants in resisting investigation casts a cloud on the bona fide of the applicants in filing the present application. Abhishek Banerjee (abbreviated as AB in the order) being in the top rung of the ruling political party ought not to shy away from the investigation process. On the contrary, the applicants and particularly AB is trying tooth and nail to oppose such investigation. The proper approach would be to put oneself to the test and come out clean instead of avoiding or running away from the entire process,” Sinha stated in her order.

“AB has averred in the application that he is a respected person in the society and a law abiding citizen of India. Being a Member of the Parliament the applicant ought to know that all citizens of the country are required to cooperate with any investigation conducted by the competent officers in accordance with law. It can be that the applicant, holding such high and responsible post, may be in the know of information which may be required and helpful for proceeding further with the scam case that is being investigated by the investigating officers,” Sinha’s order was scathing in its content.

The Bench justified its decision to uphold Justice Gangopadhyay’s earlier order which found the chronology of Banerjee’s Shahid Minar public meeting allegation, (that the agencies pressured TMC leaders Madan Mitra and Kunal Ghosh to name him in the Saradha Ponzi scam case) and recruitment scam accused Kuntal Ghosh’s (abbreviated as KG in the order) formal allegation to Kolkata Police and a CBI court (that he too was coerced by the agencies to do the same) a suspect.

“The Court recorded the date and the events chronologically and thereafter took note of the public meeting held by AB on 29th March, 2023, the press statement made by KG on 30th March, 2023, complaint lodged by KG before the CBI Court on 31st March, 2023 and the complaint lodged by KG before the Hastings police station on 1st April, 2023,” the order stated.

“The close proximity of the dates of the above events raised doubt in the mind of the Court with regard to the genuineness of the allegation made by KG in the complaint. The inference drawn by the Hon’ble Judge may or may not have been correct. It is for the investigating agencies to take note of the same and proceed in the matter in accordance with law,” Sinha’s order added.

The Bench was especially critical of Banerjee’s “deliberate suppression” of the fact that he was previously summoned as well by the CBI and with which he failed to comply.

“Acting on the direction passed by the Hon’ble Court, notice under Section 160 CrPC was issued to AB on 16th April, 2023 with a direction to appear before the CBI on 18th April, 2023. AB deliberately suppressed the fact of issuance of the said notice and has intentionally tried to mislead the Court. The fact of issuance of the said notice was also not brought to the knowledge of the Hon’ble Supreme Court as there is no reference to the said notice in any of the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It has been stressed that suppression of such vital fact is a conscious effort to delay and forestall the investigation,” the High Court order stated.

“The act of the applicants in pressing the instant applications raises doubt in the mind of the Court that the same have been filed with mala fide intention to deter the investigating officers to follow through the process of investigation which has already opened up a box of worms with more to follow suit. The idea is to delay the entire process to the extent possible so that the real culprits can remain shielded. In fact, on account of filing the applications neither the ED nor the CBI appear to have proceeded any further,” Sinha stated in her order.

“The notice under 160 CrPC issued in favour of AB is yet to be acted upon even though there is no order restraining the investigating authority to proceed with the same. The applicants have indeed been successful in interrupting the investigation to a great extent. It is high time that the investigation process be brought back to the right track and proceeded in the right earnest so that the same reaches its logical conclusion at the earliest,” she added.

Stressing on the need to nip such tendencies in the bud, Sinha justified her decision to impose a whopping cost of Rs 25 lakh each on Banerjee and Ghosh.

“If the trend to delay the main investigation and intimidate the investigating officers is not dealt with appropriately at the very first stage, then the same will develop as a style and very many investigations in future may be held up for the same reasons. Such a move must be stubbed with an iron hand and upon imposition of exemplary costs so that the same has a deterring effect and similar offenders will be compelled to think a multiple time before adopting such a stand,” the judge remarked.

While addressing a rally at Sonamukhi in Bankura on Friday before heading back to Calcutta, Banerjee responded to the court order with confidence.

“I respect the judges who have delivered adverse verdicts on me. But I also request that if you find even a shred of evidence of my involvement in any of the cases including the SSC scam, then please don’t put me on trial. Pass the order to hang me directly and make an example out of me so that no one shows the impunity to engage in corruption ever again,” he said.

The High Court though was clear on why it wanted Banerjee to join the probe.

“The figures of the scam as unearthed till date make it crystal clear that several high level, influential politically exposed persons are involved in the crime. Scam of such enormous scale involving crores and crores of money could not have been possible without the tutelage and blessings of the persons in power. The proceeds of crime have penetrated through several strata and have exchanged numerous hands. In such type of cases it is not unusual that threats and challenges will be there in practically each and every step. It is for the investigating officers to overcome the hurdle and unravel the truth to punish the offenders,” Sinha stated in her order.