Defamation Case: HC Clears Way for Abhishek Banerjee's Arrest

By Mahima Katal

Jabalpur, June 18: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has lifted the interim stay on an arrest warrant issued against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee in a defamation case filed by former BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya.

The order was passed by Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal on Wednesday, dismissing Banerjee's petition and vacating the stay that had been in place since November 2025.

The defamation case was filed in 2021 by Akash Vijayvargiya, son of senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya. The complaint alleges that Banerjee described him as a "goon" during a political rally in Kolkata in November 2020.

Following the complaint, a special MP-MLA court in Bhopal issued an arrest warrant against the TMC leader. Banerjee subsequently approached the High Court, arguing that as a sitting Member of Parliament, he was unlikely to abscond and therefore did not warrant such coercive action.

On November 12, 2025, the High Court had granted interim relief by staying the execution of the arrest warrant.

However, during the hearing on Wednesday, no one appeared on behalf of Banerjee. Taking note of the absence, the Court observed that the petitioner appeared to have lost interest in pursuing the matter.

The Court then dismissed the petition, lifted the stay on the arrest warrant, and directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Bhopal court.

The development is expected to add to the legal challenges facing Banerjee, who is also under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged corruption-related matters.

With the High Court's latest order, the arrest warrant issued by the trial court can now be executed unless further relief is obtained from a higher judicial forum.