The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea from Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira, challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons issued to them. The summons are part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.
Abhishek Banerjee, who serves as a Member of Parliament for the Trinamool Congress, and his wife have been under the ED’s radar, accused of money laundering linked to the corruption in recruiting teachers for West Bengal’s schools. The couple has faced multiple summonses from the ED, prompting them to seek legal recourse.
In their petition to the Supreme Court, the Banerjees cited procedural lapses, arguing that the ED’s directive for them to appear in New Delhi violated standard legal practices. They contended that under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), where specific procedures for summoning are not outlined, the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code should prevail, necessitating their appearance before authorities in Kolkata instead.
However, the Supreme Court, through a bench comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, found no merit in these claims. The decision was finalized after deliberations concluded on August 13, leading to the rejection of their petition.
