West Bengal MLAs signature forgery case: Abhishek Banerjee appears before CID

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday (June 11, 2026) appeared before the West Bengal police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with a case involving forgery of signatures of MLAs.

Mr. Banerjee appeared before the CID at West Bengal police headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan after the Calcutta High Court had earlier in the day directed the Trinamool Congress leader to appear before the CID in the Vidhan Sabha signature scam probe at 6 p.m.

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

“The petitioner shall present himself before the investigating agency today by 6:00 p.m. The investigating agency shall be at liberty to interrogate the petitioner in accordance with law. The petitioner shall fully cooperate with the investigation,” Justice Kausik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court said in the order.

The High Court also granted a three-week interim protection to Mr. Banerjee, directing that the CID cannot take any coercive action as long as he cooperates with the investigation.

“The investigating agency shall not take any coercive steps against the petitioner for a period of three weeks from date,” the order said. The court also stated that in case of any further presence required of the petitioner, the agency shall issue at least 48 hours’ prior notice to him. The court will hear the matter after two weeks and sought a report from the CID over the investigation.

The CID investigation was prompted after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed in relation to the complaint by Trinamool MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha alleging that their signatures were forged in the letter nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly. The letter was submitted to the Speaker on May 20.

The State agency then issued several summons to Abhishek Banerjee, who had signed the letter. However, he did not appear in person, citing health issues, and sought 15 days more to respond.

On June 9, a search was carried out at the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street by the CID claiming that since the address is mentioned in the party office, they came looking for the original resolution containing the forged signatures.

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

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

The rebellion has reached Delhi as 20 of the 29 Trinamool Congress MPs in Lok Sabha have 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 — have resigned from the party and the Rajya Sabha.