India, May 22 -- The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee protection from coercive action till July 31 in an FIR over his comments at a public meeting last month, and asked if it was appropriate for a parliamentarian to make unwarranted statements.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary, to cooperate with the probe and comply with notices sent to him by the investigating officer.

The court also directed him not to travel abroad without the leave of the court. The MP from Diamond Harbour moved the high court seeking the quashing of the FIR over his comments against the leaders and workers of a rival party at a public meeting on April 27 in the run-up to...