Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee cannot be forced to make a statement against himself, the Calcutta High Court said on Thursday as it heard a plea filed by him linked to alleged forgery of signatures of newly-elected TMC MLAs. Hearing arguments from both Banerjee's counsel and those seeking investigation, the court reportedly asked the Trinamool leader to appear before CID, noting that he was ready to cooperate.TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee arrives for the INDIA bloc meeting at Constitution Club of India, in New Delhi. (ANI)“You cannot compel an accuse to give a statement against himself like this. He can say he doesn’t know. You conduct search and seizure, question him,” the high court bench said, according to a LiveLaw report.The forged signatures controversy erupted weeks after the TMC suffered a crushing loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections. After documents were submitted to the West Bengal Assembly on the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition and the party's chief whip, some legislators claimed that signatures of some members were either forged or placed without consent.