West Bengal MLA signature forgery case: Abhishek Banerjee to appear before CID

TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. File | Photo credit: PTI

Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday (June 11, 2026) appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police in connection with the MLA signature forgery case.

Mr. Banerjee appeared before the CID at the West Bengal police headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan after the Calcutta High Court earlier in the day ordered the Trinamool Congress leader to appear before the CID at 6:00 pm in the signature of the Vidhan Sabha.

Also read | TMC moves Calcutta HC to search party’s CID office adjacent to Mamata’s residence

“The petitioner will appear before the investigating authority today by 6 pm. The investigating authority may interrogate the petitioner in accordance with law. The petitioner will fully cooperate with the investigation,” Justice Kausik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court said in the order.

The High Court also granted Mr. Banerjee a three-week interim protection and ordered that the CID cannot take any coercive action if he cooperates with the investigation.

“The investigating agency shall not take any enforcement action against the petitioner for a period of three weeks from the date,” the order said. The court also stated that the agency would give at least 48 hours’ notice of any additional required presence of the petitioner. The court will hear the matter after two weeks and has asked the CID for an investigation report.

The CID probe was initiated after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed in connection with a complaint by Trinamool MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha who alleged that their signatures were forged in a letter nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly. The letter was submitted to the Chairman on 20 May.

The state agency then issued several summons to Abhishek Banerjee, who signed the letter. However, citing health problems, he did not appear in person and asked for 15 days to respond.

On 9 June, a CID search was conducted at former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence at 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street, saying that since the address is listed in the party office, they came to look for the original resolution containing the forged signatures.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool on Wednesday (June 10) approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the legality of the search operation conducted at the party office adjacent to Ms Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat area.

The Trinamool Congress signature scandal is what sparked the revolt by party legislators. After the suspension of Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, 58 party MLAs formed a bloc and elected Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition.

The rebellion reached Delhi when 20 of the Trinamool Congress’ 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha decided to form a separate bloc and support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Three Rajya Sabha MPs – Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik – resigned from the party and the Rajya Sabha.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 15:19 IST