Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The court asked the TMC national general secretary to appear before the SSKM hospital to decide whether his abroad treatment is indispensable. But he refused.
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) dismissed Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s plea to visit abroad for eye treatment.
A Single Bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya delivered the verdict expressing discontent that Mr. Banerjee declined the Court’s advise to appear before the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to determine whether the treatment can be done in the city.
Justice Bhattacharyya held that the Court, not being a medical expert, required an independent medical opinion to decide whether this treatment in abroad is indispensable for the petitioner.
However, his lawyer, Senior Advocate Rebecca John, informed that Mr. Banerjee wishes to continue his specialised treatment under the supervision of a medical team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States of America whom he had been consulting for a long time.
After the High Court refused an expedited hearing of his appeal several times since June, Mr. Banerjee had recently taken up the matter with the Supreme Court that directed the High Court to dispose it of within a week.
According to the officials, Mr. Banerjee had sought permission for a seven-day visit outside of India for the treatment. However, the court maintained that this treatment can be done in the country and therefore observed that there is no need for an urgent hearing of the petition considering a pile of legal cases against the TMC leader currently sub-judice.
Appearing for the Diamond Harbour MP, Ms. John also argued that he had earlier been allowed to visit abroad for the same treatment during a proceeding by the Enforcement Directorate. He had visited the USA 12 times between 2023 and 2025 and came back every time without missing the scheduled date.
However, the State opposed the plea, contending that there was no medical emergency requiring treatment abroad.
Following the argument, the Court observed that around 15 criminal cases were pending against Mr. Banerjee, with proceedings continuing in several of them, making it necessary for the Court to satisfy itself that overseas travel was medically unavoidable.
Published – August 05, 2026 12:57 pm IST
