Direct attack on Senior Advocate: Kalyan Bandyopadhyay after CID calls him over MLA signature forgery case

Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay on Thursday said that he had received a call from the State CID in connection with a criminal case.

The case was registered to probe allegations that signatures of MLAs on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) resolution to elect the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly had been forged. The controversy is linked to the ongoing internal divisions in the TMC following its recent defeat in the State Assembly polls.

Bandopadhyay, who is also a leader of the TMC and a Member of Parliament (MP), is representing his party colleague Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay before the Calcutta High Court in the plea challenging West Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision to recognise rebel MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as LoP. The High Court today declined to stay the Speaker's decision and listed the matter for hearing in July.

Bandopadhyay said that an officer of the CID called him this afternoon with an intention to interrogate him in connection with the case. Speaking with the Bar & Bench, the senior counsel said that someone from the police had also come to his residence when he was not at home.

"I am arguing the matter. Today the order was passed. If they want to say anything [to me], they could have pointed to the Court," Bandopadhyay said.

Bandopadhyay said that he was in no manner connected with the criminal case.

"I don't have anything to do with the matter because I am not an MLA. Those who are signatories of the resolution, that has been discussed in the writ petition. I am only arguing the matter," he said.

Bandopadhyay described the police action as a "direct attack to a Senior Advocate who incidentally happens to be a Member of Parliament".

He has now written a letter to the High Court Bar Association demanding necessary action against the alleged CID interference into his professional work.

"How the police can interrogate a Senior Advocate who is arguing matter in connection with criminal case? Being a Senior Advocate and a member of Bar Association, I bring it to your notice for necessary action, if you deem fit and proper to protect dignity, respect and privilege of an Advocate," he wrote to the Bar Association Secretary.

After the West Bengal Assembly election results were declared on May 4, a meeting of TMC MLAs is stated to have been held on May 6. At this meeting, Chattopadhyay was nominated as the LoP by the TMC. The decision was later communicated to the Speaker’s office.

However, two MLAs later complained that they had not signed the resolution and that their signatures had been forged. The Speaker then forwarded the matter to the police, leading to registration of a case by the CID.