Calcutta High Court Reserves Decision on Banerjee’s Security Plea

The Calcutta High Court on November 12 reserved its decision on Abhishek Banerjee’s challenge to the downgrade of his security cover from Z or Z-plus to X, leaving his request for enhanced protection unresolved. Justice Krishna Rao reserved judgment after hearing arguments from Banerjee’s counsel and the West Bengal government.

Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress MP, is seeking restoration of Z-plus security. His lawyer, Shoeb Alam, told the court that six attacks on Banerjee and his family had occurred since the downgrade and that requests for a fresh assessment had not been answered. Those incidents were allegations made in court; the reporting does not independently establish them.

The state argued that Banerjee was not entitled to a particular security category and that it had received no specific threat assessment warranting Z-category protection. Additional Advocate General Billwadal Bhattacharya told the court that a review took place on May 29, after the downgrade on May 12, and that the next assessment was scheduled for the end of November. The state said reviews are ordinarily conducted every six months.

Justice Rao questioned why authorities had not held an interim review...