'Can Be Done In India': Abhishek Banerjee Again Denied Foreign Travel For Eye Treatment

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is facing a police case related to alleged intimidatory statements he made during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election campaign.

05 Aug 2026, 06:49 · NDTV

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Calcutta High Court denied Abhishek Banerjee's request to travel abroad for eye treatment
Justice Bhattacharya noted medical procedures for Banerjee's condition are available in India
Banerjee faces a police case over alleged intimidatory statements during 2026 polls

What is the next step for his legal case and medical treatment?
Kolkata:

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday refused the urgent permission to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee to travel abroad for eye treatment, about two weeks after rejecting a similar request.

A single bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya said it doesn't see the need for 40-year-old Banerjee, who is facing a police case related to alleged intimidatory statements he made during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election campaign, to leave the country when medical procedures are available in India.

Justice Bhattacharya said it is immaterial where Banerjee, who sustained an eye injury in a 2016 road accident, gets treated, as getting medical intervention is more important.

The same bench had rejected Banerjee's plea on July 20, saying there are several reputed eye clinics in Kolkata.

While extending till October 6 his interim protection from coercive action in a case related to his alleged comments against leaders and workers of a rival party at a public meeting on April 27 in the run-up to the second phase of the West Bengal assembly polls, Justice Bhattacharyya had directed Banerjee to cooperate with the probe and not travel abroad without the court's permission as previously ordered.

Maintaining that the court was not inclined to allow the petitioner to travel abroad when the investigation was underway, Justice Bhattacharyya said the Trinamool MP should appear before the head of ophthalmology at the state-run SSKM Hospital, who will decide whether Banerjee's eye issue can be treated there.

Justice Bhattacharya had said that the court will take a further decision in the matter only after seeing the report from SSKM.

The Diamond Harbour MP had then gone to the Supreme Court, contending that he has cooperated with investigators in all cases against him and should not be denied access to medical care. The top court on Monday asked the Calcutta High Court to take up his petition within a week.

BJP, Rebel Trinamool Camp Allege Abhishek Banerjee May Flee Abroad

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the rival Trinamool camp have alleged that Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary, would flee the country if allowed to travel abroad.

West Bengal minister and senior BJP leader Agnimitra Paul alleged that the TMC leader, who is former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, might be using his medical condition as a pretext to leave the country.

"If he needs treatment, we can arrange the best facilities in a state government hospital. Lakhs of people are treated here. There could be a plan to escape from the country," Paul claimed.

The TMC rebel faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee alleged that the Lok Sabha MP could exploit his diplomatic passport to evade Indian law.

Claiming that Members of Parliament possess diplomatic passports, Ritabrata Banerjee alleged that if Abhishek travelled to a country without an extradition treaty with India, it could complicate any future legal action against him.

"He is desperate to go abroad because he wants to escape. Once someone with a diplomatic passport reaches a country that has no extradition treaty with India, bringing him back becomes difficult," the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly said.

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool camp, however, rejected the allegation.

Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said Abhishek Banerjee had been undergoing periodic specialised treatment abroad for his eye condition.

"They should stop politicising a health issue. Why will he escape? He has faced every politically motivated case and has cooperated with the investigations," Ghosh said.

Abhishek Banerjee suffered a serious injury below his eye in a road accident while returning to Kolkata from Murshidabad in October 2016.

The TMC has said that after initial treatment in India, he underwent specialised treatment abroad and has since travelled overseas periodically for follow-up procedures.

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