Bengal coal scam case: Rujira Banerjee moved Delhi HC against ED

News Desk: Rujira Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court challenging an Enforcement Directorate’s complaint against her in an alleged coal scam case.

She also challenged a Delhi trial court order seeking her physical presence for a hearing in the case on October 12. She had appeared virtually for a hearing on September 30 – the original date of hearing.

Rujira Banerjee is one of the people accused in the case of alleged illegal mining and theft of coal from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Bengal’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

In her plea, Rujira Banerjee said that the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint against her was “arbitrary, false, vexatious and an abuse of the process of law”. She said it was aimed at “harassing” her family.

She also submitted that the trial court’s summons against her were issued in a “mechanical way”, without scrutinising the notices against her.

“Owing to the fact that she is a mother of two young children and a resident of Kolkata, the petitioner has repeatedly requested that she be examined at her residence in Kolkata” the plea stated

In September, Rujira and Abhishek Banerjee had approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to quash the summons issued against them by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the case.

On September 21, the court had refused to grant them interim relief in relation to the summons.

The allegations

In November 2020, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against the general managers of Eastern Coalfield Limited as well as a person named Anup Manjhi. Based on the CBI’s case, the Enforcement Directorate also began an investigation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had alleged that Abhishek Banerjee had received kickbacks from TMC leader Vinay Mishra who was involved in the illegal mining. The BJP also claimed that Abhishek Banerjee channelled these funds into the Trinamool Congress.

In February, the CBI had served a notice to Rujira Banerjee asking her to join inquiry in the case.