The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday declined to grant Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee urgent permission to travel abroad for eye treatment, observing that the required medical care was available in India.
The court said it was not concerned about where Banerjee chose to undergo treatment, as long as he received the necessary medical intervention.
The order was passed by a single-judge bench hearing Banerjee's plea after the Supreme Court directed the High Court to decide the matter within a week.
The Diamond Harbour MP and Trinamool Congress general secretary told the court that he has been receiving specialised eye treatment in the United States for nearly a decade after suffering serious injuries in a road accident in October 2016. He sought permission to continue that treatment overseas.
However, the court noted that Banerjee had not appeared before the medical board at Kolkata's state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital, which had been constituted on its earlier directions to assess his condition before deciding on his request.
In its order, the bench said there was no reason to allow him to travel abroad when the required treatment was available within the country.
The West Bengal government opposed the plea, arguing that 16 cases involving Banerjee are currently under investigation. Its counsel told the court that allowing the TMC leader to leave India at this stage could affect the ongoing probes.
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Banerjee's counsel had argued that his prolonged treatment history abroad justified continuity of care with the same specialists.
Banerjee had first approached the High Court on June 23 seeking a week's permission to travel for the treatment, a plea that was rejected in July, with the court instead directing the S.S.K.M. ophthalmology department to constitute a medical board to examine him.
He subsequently moved the Supreme Court challenging that order, leading to the apex court's direction for a time-bound decision.
Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, faces multiple ongoing investigations, including cases related to alleged hate speech during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections and the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, in which the CBI and Enforcement Directorate have previously sought to question him.
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