The Calcutta High Court reserved its order on Abhishek Banerjee’s plea against the downgrade of his security cover from Z+ to X category.
Justice Krishna Rao asked the West Bengal government why it did not hold a fresh threat review after receiving Banerjee’s complaints.
Banerjee’s counsel alleged that the Security Review Committee did not meet or take a formal decision before the cover was reduced on May 12.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday reserved its order on Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s plea against the downgrade of his security cover from Z+ to X category, while questioning why the West Bengal government did not order a fresh threat review after receiving his complaints. Justice Krishna Rao asked the state why it was waiting for the next six-month review despite allegations of repeated attacks on Banerjee and his family.
“The question is, you have received a request, these incidents have happened, is there any rule that you cannot hold the review committee before six months?” the court asked the state government during the hearing, livelaw reported .
Banerjee’s petition alleges that several attacks took place after his protection was reduced and that the state failed to act despite repeated representations. The case now turns on whether the downgrade followed due process and whether the state should have carried out an immediate reassessment of his threat perception.
Security Downgrade Dispute
Banerjee had been under Z+ security since 2013 on the basis of an assessment of his threat perception. His cover was reduced to X category on May 12, three days after the new government took oath on May 9.
Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for Banerjee, argued that the process was flawed. He told the court that the competent Security Review Committee had neither met nor taken any formal decision to reduce the cover.
Alam alleged that the authorities acted only on a recommendation and not on a decision of the committee that was authorised to decide such matters. He also questioned the speed of the change after the new government took office.
Alleged Threats And Response
According to the report, Alam told the court that six attacks had allegedly taken place on Banerjee and his family since the downgrade. He submitted that the authorities did not take adequate action even after later representations sought stronger protection.
He also alleged that police pickets outside Banerjee’s residence and office had been withdrawn. Referring to Thursday morning, he told the court that a JCB machine reached the site at about 6:30 am to demolish a police post outside the TMC leader’s residence.
The counsel said Banerjee feared a possible political assassination. He argued that the MP was not insisting on any specific category of security but was seeking an emergency reassessment of the threat to his life.
State's Defence
The state opposed the plea. Additional Advocate General Billwadal Bhattacharya argued that no individual could demand a particular security category as a matter of right.
The state informed the court that the downgrade took place on May 12 and that a later review was conducted on May 29. It also told the court that such assessments are usually carried out once every six months, with the next exercise due at the end of November.
Bhattacharya further submitted that Z+ protection was generally meant for certain constitutional functionaries, including the chief minister and governor. The state’s position was that Banerjee was put under X-category cover because Kolkata Police had not identified any specific threat that required a higher level of protection.
KMC Demolition Operation
The court hearing ran alongside an anti-encroachment drive by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation outside Banerjee’s Kalighat residence on Thursday. Civic officials arrived with a bulldozer and removed a makeshift bamboo structure from the footpath outside the TMC general secretary’s house.
Officials informed that the structure was blocking pedestrians and causing inconvenience to people using the pathway. A large contingent of central security personnel was deployed outside the residence before the operation began.
Banerjee reacted on X after the demolition. “No number of bulldozers can silence my voice or break my resolve. I will continue my fight against the Bangla Birodhis. I will neither retreat nor budge an inch until my last breath,” he wrote on X.
