Abhishek Banerjee moves HC to quash FIR on "provocative speeches"

Trinamool Congress (TMC) All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has officially approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking the immediate quashing of the FIR registered against him by the police. The criminal case was formally initiated by the specialized Cyber Crime branch of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, following controversial and heated remarks made by the high-profile Member of Parliament during the peak of the high-voltage state assembly election campaign.

The controversy stems from a formal written complaint lodged against the senior Trinamool leader on May 5 at the Baguiati Police Station by a local social activist. The complainant meticulously cited multiple web links, digital video broadcasts, and transcripts of speeches delivered by Banerjee across several locations during his campaign trail between late April and early May. The primary accusation alleges that the leader intentionally used highly provocative, aggressive, and inflammatory language targeted at opposition workers and central leadership, including statements directed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which were capable of disrupting public order.

In his legal petition before the single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, Abhishek Banerjee has vehemently denied any administrative or criminal wrongdoing, asserting that his campaign speeches were within the bounds of democratic expression. His advocates are prepared to argue that the sudden registration of multiple non-bailable sections based on a singular campaign narrative is an abuse of the state's legal framework aimed at creating undue pressure.