During the hearing of an unrelated matter on Wednesday, a lawyer appearing for Abhishek Banerjee told Calcutta High Court that the Trinamool Congress leader was being harassed by the police.
Justice Kausik Chanda agreed to take up the matter on Thursday.
Senior advocate and Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee submitted before the court that the party’s national general secretary was facing harassment despite his petition challenging a CID summons still being pending before the high court.
Pressing for an urgent hearing, he told the court that the Trinamool leader was being subjected to harassment while his petition remained unheard. Justice Chanda said the matter would be taken up on Thursday.
The plea came a day after separate CID teams conducted searches at the Trinamool office on Harish Chatterjee Street — located on the same premises as Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence — and at Abhishek’s office on Camac Street.
The CID is probing the allegation that the signatures of several Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged on an official document, submitted to the Bengal Assembly, nominating Shobandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the Opposition.
A complaint was initially lodged with Hare Street police station. The CID later took over the probe after an FIR was registered.
The CID teams that searched the two offices left after completing their operations on the same day Abhishek had been asked to appear before the agency for questioning.
The third summons, served on a staff member at Abhishek’s office on Monday, directed the leader to appear before CID officers by 5pm on Tuesday.
Abhishek sent a letter to the CID just before the deadline, mentioning his absence from the city and seeking time.
He has been in Delhi since Saturday. On Wednesday, Abhishek met Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
“We will follow the directive from the court on Thursday while presenting our case before the judiciary, explaining why it was crucial to question Abhishek,” an officer said.