The case has been listed for hearing on Wednesday and it is in the cause list.

Speaking to reporters in Siliguri, Bose said: “She (Banerjee) is an accused now. I will treat her as an accused now as far as these things are concerned. As Chief Minister, there is a professional relationship. She is my constitutional colleague, and I will treat her accordingly. But as far as hurting my self respect is concerned, she is an accused against whom I have filed a defamation suit.”

Last week, a day after Banerjee claimed that women were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan, Raj Bhavan sources had said Bose had filed a defamation case against her at the Calcutta High Court.

Bose had also criticised Banerjee for her remarks and said public representatives were expected not to create “erroneous and slanderous impressions”.

Banerjee made the remarks during a press conference at the State Secretariat on Thursday. Referring to the ongoing row over two newly elected TMC MLAs, Sayantika Banerjee and Rayat Hossain Sarkar, demanding that they be administered oath in the West Bengal Assembly rather than in Raj Bhavan, Banerjee said: “Why should they go to Raj Bhavan? Why will he not come to the Assembly? They have complained to me that women are afraid to go to Raj Bhavan where such activities are going on.”

On May 2, a contractual woman employee of Raj Bhavan had alleged sexual harassment by Bose following which the Kolkata Police started a probe. Bose has maintained that the charges are “engineered narratives” meant to “stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal”.