The Calcutta High Court has dismissed Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s application seeking permission to travel abroad for specialised eye treatment after he refused to appear before a medical board constituted to assess his condition. The court held that without an independent medical evaluation, it could not be satisfied that treatment outside India was necessary.
Justice Sougata Bhattacharya noted that the petitioner had been directed to undergo an examination by a medical board at the state-run SSKM Hospital. However, Banerjee chose not to appear before the board, prompting the court to reject his request for overseas travel.
The court observed that Banerjee's refusal to cooperate with the medical assessment undermined his plea for permission to seek treatment abroad. It stressed that an expert medical opinion was necessary before considering relaxation of the travel restrictions imposed in the pending criminal proceedings.
The High Court reiterated that the request for overseas treatment could only be considered after medical experts determined whether the required treatment was unavailable in India. In the absence of such an assessment, the court found no grounds to grant permission for foreign travel.
Banerjee had approached the High Court seeking permission to travel overseas for treatment of an eye injury sustained several years ago. His foreign travel remains subject to prior court approval because of conditions attached to interim protection granted in an ongoing criminal case. The court's latest order leaves those restrictions unchanged.
