Supreme Court Defers Hearing in I-PAC Case Again, Next Hearing Scheduled for Next Week

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing in the high-profile I-PAC case involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the West Bengal government and political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC). The matter, which was scheduled to be heard by a bench led by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, will now come up again next week. 

According to reports, the hearing was postponed after submissions were made regarding pending affidavits and responses filed by the parties involved in the case. The matter has witnessed multiple adjournments over the past few months as both the ED and the West Bengal government continued to exchange legal arguments and counter-affidavits before the apex court. 

The case stems from the Enforcement Directorate’s January raids at the office of I-PAC in Salt Lake Sector V and at the residence of the organisation’s co-founder Pratik Jain in Kolkata in connection with an alleged coal-smuggling investigation. During the searches, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the premises, triggering a legal and political controversy. 

Following the incident, the ED approached the Supreme Court alleging interference in its investigation and obstruction during the search operations. The agency also raised concerns over alleged intimidation of its officers during the raids. The state government, in turn, challenged the maintainability of the ED’s petition and accused the central agency of conducting unlawful searches. 

During earlier hearings, senior advocates appearing for the West Bengal government questioned whether the ED, being a central investigative agency, could invoke Article 32 of the Constitution claiming violation of fundamental rights. The state argued that “fundamental rights” are meant for individuals and not for government institutions or departments. 

The Supreme Court bench had also raised broader constitutional questions during previous proceedings. Justice Mishra had observed that if a chief minister enters the premises of an ongoing investigation, it could create an “undesirable situation” with implications for future investigations across states. 

The repeated postponement of hearings has kept the politically sensitive matter unresolved ahead of the Bengal Assembly election process. In April, the Supreme Court had similarly deferred the matter and fixed the next hearing just a day before the first phase of polling in the state.