The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee to give his voice sample to a judicial magistrate on July 15 in a case over alleged intimidatory statements he made during the West Bengal assembly election campaign.Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya expressed his displeasure over Banerjee’s delay in providing his voice sample and warned of advancing the hearing of his plea seeking quashing of proceedings in the matter and recalling an order granting the MP protection from coercive action.The court directed police authorities to ensure that Banerjee is not subjected to egg-pelting or any other harassment when he appears before the jurisdictional court or the investigating agency.Justice Bhattacharyya said Banerjee’s revision petition against a Bidhananagar court directing him to give his voice sample before a magistrate in connection with the probe into the speech case was “dismissed as withdrawn” in view of the prayer by the MP’s counsel.The court directed the Lok Sabha MP to appear before the judicial magistrate on July 15 at noon to record his voice sample.He was directed to cooperate with the probe and comply with notices by the investigating officer as mentioned in the high court’s May 21 order that granted him protection from coercive action.On May 21, Justice Bhattacharyya granted Banerjee the protection until July 31 in connection with an FIR over the MP’s alleged comments at a public meeting in April during the poll campaign. The TMC MP has also sought quashing of the FIR.In another petition, Banerjee challenged a Bidhannagar sub-divisional judicial magistrate court’s direction to give his voice sample before a magistrate as prayed for by the police in connection with the investigation.Justice Bhattacharyya said the protection from coercive steps was granted to Banerjee subject to his cooperation in the investigation and complying with notices by the probe agency in the intimidatory speech case.Noting that Banerjee did not comply with the Bidhannagar court’s order directing him to give his voice sample, the high court judge threatened to dismiss the MP’s petition challenging the order and impose “exemplary cost”.The lawyer representing the MP told the court that Banerjee admits it was his voice in the speech that has been brought to question.He, however, argued the TMC leader has a constitutional right to challenge a lower court order and maintained that the trial court’s direction was devoid of reason.Justice Bhattacharyya said giving the voice sample to the magistrate comes under the umbrella of the order he had passed on May 21 and that the petitioner is bound to cooperate with the probe.”It is nothing but a ploy to frustrate the investigation after obtaining an order from the high court,” the judge observed verbally during the arguments.Banerjee’s lawyer stated that the MP was willing to give his voice sample on Saturday itself and prayed for a direction to protect him from egg-pelting.When the court said it was the duty of the law enforcers to ensure there is no egg-pelting, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar assured the court that there will be no such incident.Justice Bhattacharyya said it pains him that after he passed the May 21 order, the connected revisional application challenging the voice sample order was moved before a different bench.The bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh had directed that the matter be placed before the court of Justice Bhattacharyya since he is seized of the main application seeking quashing of proceedings in the matter.”This reveals the conduct of the petitioner,” Justice Bhattacharyya said, verbally observing that it is an abuse of due process of law.