Madhya Pradesh Court Stays Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee's Arrest In Defamation Case

In a relief for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday stayed the arrest warrant issued against him in a defamation case filed by former Indore BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya.

The Bhopal MP-MLA Court had earlier issued the warrant after Banerjee repeatedly failed to appear for hearings.

A single-judge bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal stayed the arrest warrant and issued notices to all parties involved in the case, including complainant Vijayvargiya. The parties have been asked to submit their replies within a week. The next hearing has been scheduled for December 18.

Senior advocates Anil Khare and M Agarwal represented Banerjee in the High Court, arguing that the arrest warrant was unjustified and that the defamation complaint itself was based on a distorted version of his statement.

The case dates back to a public meeting held in Kolkata in November 2020, where Banerjee allegedly referred to Akash Vijayvargiya, son of senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, as a "goon".  Taking objection, Akash lodged a defamation complaint in 2021.

The matter has since been under hearing in the Bhopal MP-MLA Court, but Banerjee has reportedly not appeared even once since proceedings began on May 1, 2021. Taking this non-appearance seriously, Judicial Magistrate Tathagat Yagnik issued an arrest warrant for hearings between August 11 and August 26, 2025. Banerjee subsequently challenged the warrant in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

During the High Court hearing, Banerjee's legal team argued that the statement made at the rally was misrepresented and sensationalised, forming the basis of the defamation suit. They urged the court to stay the warrant until the matter is fully examined.

After hearing arguments, Justice Agarwal reserved the order and granted interim protection to the Trinamool MP.

With the arrest warrant on hold, the case now moves to its next phase, where the High Court will consider responses from all sides before deciding on the maintainability of the defamation proceedings.