The Calcutta High Court on Thursday set aside summons issued to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee (Naroola) by the Customs Department in March, 2019. On March 26, 2019 Customs authorities had issued summons to the TMC MP’s wife under Section 133 of the Customs Act, 1962.
Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj in an order today set aside the summons by terming them “illegal” and “bad in law”.
“The Customs authority had filed a complaint on 22.3.2019 and after the complaint was filed, police acted upon the same by taking magisterial approval under Section 155 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Thus the Customs authority has lost its jurisdiction to enquire any further in respect of the alleged offence,” Sanjay Basu, counsel representing the wife of the MP, said.
The Custom officials had alleged that the wife of the MP and a fellow passenger voluntarily/ intentionally obstructed the officials of Customs from discharge of their duties under the Customs Act on the night of March 15, 2019 and the early hours of March 16, 2019 at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. The summons were issued to her in connection with that incident.
The TMC MP had denied the allegations against his wife levelled by the Customs officials and alleged that she was being “targeted for being associated with him”.
