'You are abusing court': HC raps Abhishek, directs him to give voice sample on July 15 by 12 noon

The Calcutta High Court on Friday issued a strict directive to Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, ordering him to provide his voice sample to the CID at 12 noon on July 15. Justice Saugata Bhattacharya strongly reprimanded the leader for failing to appear before the Bidhannagar court on July 8 despite explicit judicial orders and existing protective measures. Refusing to entertain further legal delays, the judge stated that the lawmaker was mandatory bound to assist the investigating agency and characterized the continuous avoidance as an abuse of the court's process.

The legal dispute stems from an ongoing investigation into controversial "DJ comments" made by Abhishek Banerjee, where the CID has officially sought his voice sample to further their probe. Banerjee's legal counsel, Ayan Bhattacharya, argued in court that since his client has never denied making the statements or claimed the voice belonged to anyone else, there was no logical requirement to submit a sample. However, Justice Bhattacharya firmly dismissed these arguments, telling the defense team that they could not satisfy the court even by arguing for ten hours, and subsequently denied a petition to restrict the voice sample's usage in other potential cases.

While the High Court maintained the leader's interim legal protection until July 31, it made it completely clear that such relief does not exempt him from complying with the physical submission of the voice sample. The court also integrated strict parameters for the scheduled July 15 appearance, issuing an explicit message to ensure that the MP is not subjected to any harassment or physical targeting on the day of his submission. The judge warned that any further non-compliance would result in the court recalling its protective orders entirely.