Supreme Court sends Abhishek Banerjee's 'media trial' plea back to Calcutta High Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to decide Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's plea to stop what he calls a "media trial" over the investigations against him, and instead asked the Calcutta High Court to take up his request for interim relief when it reopens after the Puja holidays on 16 November.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana did not examine the merits of the case and passed no restraint on reporting, LiveLaw and LawChakra reported. It allowed Banerjee to mention the matter before the High Court as soon as it reopens.

What Banerjee wants

Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP and Trinamool's general secretary, is asking for two orders, The Federal reported: one restraining investigating agencies from sharing his personal information with the media, and another restraining outlets from reporting on matters that form part of the ongoing investigations. His counsel told the court he was also seeking orders to take down reports already published.

He alleges that agencies have leaked details of searches, questioning and other legal steps to a section of the media, and that selective leaks by the investigating officer are damaging his reputation and could influence the investigations, in breach of his rights to dignity, reputation and a fair investigation under Article 21 of the Constitution. The reports do not name the agencies or the specific cases. The case is listed as Abhishek Banerjee v. Union of India and others.

Why he went to the Supreme Court

Senior advocate Shoeb Alam, for Banerjee, told the bench that a writ petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court in September but was found to fall outside the roster of the bench before which it was placed. He said he had mentioned it three times without an urgent hearing, while articles about Banerjee continued to appear daily, which he described as a "continuing violation" of his rights. He cited earlier Supreme Court rulings that media trials cannot undermine the presumption of innocence.

The investigating agencies and the media organisations concerned have not yet been heard, LawChakra noted, and the Supreme Court expressed no view on whether the reports were lawful.

Background

Banerjee's plea comes five months after the Trinamool lost power in Bengal to the BJP, now led in government by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The two leaders have traded sharp attacks in recent weeks: on 29 October Banerjee warned police officers that they would face action over what he called false cases against Trinamool workers, and Adhikari replied the next day that a former aide of Banerjee who had been questioned by police "seems to have disclosed everything".

What happens next

The Calcutta High Court reopens on 16 November, when Banerjee's lawyers are expected to seek an urgent hearing on interim relief. Any order restraining agencies or the media would come only after the High Court hears the other side. The writ petition Banerjee filed in September remains pending before the High Court.