Kolkata: Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court dismissed his plea seeking permission to travel abroad for specialised eye treatment. The fresh petition was filed late on Thursday night and is likely to be heard by the apex court next week.

The legal battle stems from a Calcutta High Court order passed on Wednesday by Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, who refused to grant immediate permission for overseas treatment.

Instead, the court directed Banerjee to appear before Kolkata's SSKM Hospital, where the head of the Ophthalmology Department was asked to constitute a medical board to determine whether treatment abroad was medically necessary.

However, Banerjee's counsel informed the High Court that he would not appear before the SSKM medical board. Following the submission, the court dismissed the petition.

The matter had earlier reached the Supreme Court, which on Monday sent the case back to the Calcutta High Court for a fresh decision within seven days.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan, had asked the High Court to dispose of the matter expeditiously.

During the proceedings, Banerjee's lawyers, Rebecca Mammen John and Ayan Bhattacharya, argued that he had already been undergoing treatment in the United States and sought permission to continue his medical care there.

The West Bengal government opposed the plea, citing multiple pending criminal cases against the Trinamool MP. 

Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar argued that permitting Banerjee to travel abroad could affect ongoing investigations.

The High Court observed that an independent medical assessment was necessary before considering the request.

It directed that if specialists at SSKM Hospital concluded that the required treatment was unavailable in Kolkata and could only be carried out overseas, such findings would carry significant weight.

Banerjee, however, declined to undergo the examination at SSKM, prompting the High Court to dismiss his petition.

He has now challenged that order before the Supreme Court, setting the stage for another round of legal proceedings over his request to travel abroad for eye treatment.