The Supreme Court on Monday, 10 August granted Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee permission to travel abroad for three weeks to receive ophthalmic treatment, setting aside the Calcutta High Court's earlier refusal to ease the foreign travel restriction imposed on him. The ruling comes as part of conditions attached to his interim protection from arrest in a criminal case.

Key Conditions Imposed by the Court

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana allowed the appeal subject to strict conditions. Banerjee must travel exclusively on his diplomatic passport — issued in connection with Operation Sindoor outreach — and share his full itinerary, place of stay, treating doctors or hospital, period of stay, and flight details with the investigating agency. The court clarified that this information would remain confidential but could be used by investigating agencies for their purposes.

What the West Bengal Government Argued

Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the West Bengal government, opposed the plea, citing multiple cases registered against Banerjee and raising apprehension that he might not return if allowed to travel overseas. The state government maintained it had no objection to treatment abroad in principle, but argued that a medical evaluation was first needed to confirm whether overseas care was genuinely required. Raju pointed out that Banerjee had declined to appear before a medical board constituted by the Calcutta High Court at the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and argued an adverse inference should be drawn from that refusal.

Banerjee's Defence and the Court's Observation

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Banerjee, argued that his client — as a sitting Lok Sabha member, general secretary of a national political party, and a family man based in India — had no incentive to abscond. He also noted that embassy monitoring of Banerjee's diplomatic passport movements would provide an additional layer of oversight. The CJI-led bench expressed its disinclination to sustain the West Bengal government's objections, observing that every individual has a right to travel abroad and choose his medical treatment.

Background: The Case and the Travel Restriction

The foreign travel ban on Banerjee was originally imposed as a condition of his interim protection from arrest in a criminal case in which he is accused of making provocative and violence-inciting remarks during campaigning for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Banerjee first approached the Calcutta High Court on 23 June seeking a seven-day overseas window for ophthalmic care. The High Court dismissed his application on 5 August after his counsel indicated he would not submit to the medical board evaluation. On 3 August, the Supreme Court had disposed of an earlier plea by Banerjee challenging the High Court's initial refusal, directing the High Court to decide expeditiously — which it did, again refusing permission.

The Medical History Behind the Plea

According to submissions before the court, Banerjee sustained a serious eye injury in a road accident in October 2016 while returning to Kolkata from a political programme in Murshidabad district. He has reportedly been receiving treatment in the United States for nearly a decade since the accident, at hospitals both in India and abroad. The Supreme Court's order now clears the path for that treatment to continue, subject to the disclosure and monitoring conditions it has laid down.

The matter will remain subject to judicial oversight, with the investigating agency in possession of Banerjee's travel details throughout the three-week window.