Supreme Court permits TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee to travel abroad for eye treatment
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted permission to Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee to travel abroad for three weeks to undergo eye treatment, overturning a Calcutta High Court decision that had refused to relax his foreign travel restrictions.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana allowed Banerjee's appeal subject to strict conditions. Under the order, the Diamond Harbour MP must travel exclusively on his diplomatic passport and provide the investigating agency with full details of his itinerary, flight schedules, foreign address, and medical contacts. The court noted that these submitted details will remain strictly confidential.
The apex court rejected objections raised by the West Bengal government, which opposed the travel request citing multiple registered cases against Banerjee and expressing concern that he might not return. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju argued that Banerjee had refused to appear before a medical board constituted by the Calcutta High Court at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to verify the necessity of foreign medical care, asserting that an adverse inference should be drawn against him.
In response, Chief Justice Kant emphasized that every individual holds the right to travel abroad and select their preferred medical treatment. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Banerjee, reassured the court that his client was not a flight risk given his standing as a sitting Member of Parliament, a senior political party executive, and a resident whose family remains in India.
The high court had previously dismissed Banerjee's application on August 5 after he declined the state-run hospital board's evaluation. Banerjee has sought ongoing ophthalmic care in the United States following a severe road accident in October 2016 while returning from a political rally in Murshidabad district, having received specialized treatment both domestically and internationally over the past decade. The foreign travel restriction was originally imposed as part of conditions attached to his interim protection from arrest in connection with a case regarding political campaigning remarks during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
(Inputs from IANS)