Kolkata 30 August : The Calcutta High Court on Monday granted Maneka Gambhir, sister-in-law of Trinamool Congress’s National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee to appear to be questioned in the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s Kolkata office instead of its New Delhi office.Prior to that earlier, the ED was summoning Gambhir in its Delhi office on the 5th of September for an inquiry into the coal smuggling fraud.
But, she was able to contest the summons in the court of appeals.
A one-judge bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya agreed with Gambhir’s request to appear before a judge in the ED office in the Central government office (CGO) complex in Salt Lake in the northern Kolkata on the date he requested in lieu of the agency’s New Delhi office.
In the courtroom, Gambhir’s lawyer, Ayan Bhattachrya argued that when ED investigators could investigate Abhishek Banerjee as well as his wife Rujira Narula in the CGO Complex office, there was no reason for them to send the client in New Delhi.
In his counter-argument ED counsel Phiroze Edulji argued that since the primary case in the case has been brought in Delhi and the investigation into the coal smuggling cases isn’t only restricted to Kolkata, Gambhir has been summoned in New Delhi.
He also claimed that there are important documents in the case, and there are issues in getting the dossiers to Kolkata.
Finally, after listening to each side, Justice Bhattacharya approved Gambhir’s prayer to appear at the The ED’s Kolkata office.
He also stated that the sleuths of the central agency are not required to take any extreme action against Gambhir.
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