The Madhya Pradesh High Court restored AITC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s petition challenging an arrest warrant issued in a criminal defamation case and agreed to examine the matter further. The Court also stayed execution of the warrant until further orders, providing interim relief to the Trinamool Congress leader.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court reinstated a petition filed by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee, challenging an arrest warrant issued against him in a criminal defamation case.
The Court has also ordered that the warrant’s execution remain suspended until further orders are passed.
The order was delivered by a single-judge Bench of Justice Pramod Kumar.
It allowed an application seeking restoration of Banerjee’s petition, which had earlier been dismissed on June 17. On that earlier date, the High Court lifted the interim protection granted to Banerjee, noting that neither Banerjee nor his counsel had appeared despite multiple opportunities.
The Court also observed that Banerjee appeared to have lost interest in pursuing the proceedings.
After the petition was restored, the High Court revived the matter and granted continued protection against coercive action. It directed that the arrest warrant issued by the Special MP/MLA Court in Bhopal would not be enforced until the Court passes further orders.
The case stems from a criminal defamation complaint brought by BJP leader Akash Vijayvargiya, the son of Union Minister and senior BJP figure Kailash Vijayvargiya.
The complaint alleges that Banerjee made defamatory remarks during a public meeting in Kolkata in 2020, in which he allegedly referred to Akash Vijayvargiya in a manner that damaged his reputation and affected his standing in public life.
Based on the complaint, the Special Court handling cases involving Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies initiated proceedings and later issued an arrest warrant against Banerjee.
In response to the issuance of the warrant and the continuation of the proceedings, Banerjee approached the High Court seeking judicial relief.
