Why Did Calcutta High Court Adjourn ED Petition on Mamata Banerjee Over I-PAC Row? What Did ED Say?

Amid escalating tensions between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday adjourned the ED's petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's alleged obstruction during recent raids. The court granted the adjournment at the ED's request, noting that the agency has filed a special leave petition (SLP) with similar demands before the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear the matter on Thursday.

The hearing, presided over by Justice Suvra Ghosh, also saw the disposal of a separate petition filed by the TMC. The party had approached the court seeking safeguards for what it described as sensitive political data potentially seized during ED operations on January 8 at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain. These raids were part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged coal scam.

During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the ED, informed the court that the agency had not seized any documents, electronic devices, or data backups from the raided premises. He emphasised that the ED's seizure lists (panchnamas) corroborated this claim. Instead, Raju alleged that Chief Minister Banerjee, along with her associates, had intervened at the sites and physically removed all relevant records and materials before the ED could secure them. "When we tried to seize items, everything was taken away by Mamata Banerjee and her cohorts," Raju stated, accusing her of committing an offence by interfering in a federal investigation.

This submission led Justice Ghosh to dispose of the TMC's plea, observing that no further action was needed since nothing had been taken by the ED. The judge noted in her order that the TMC's primary request was for the preservation and protection of confidential data from leakage or misuse, but with the ED's assurance, the matter was resolved without additional directives.

The ED's petition, filed on January 9, specifically sought a CBI inquiry into Banerjee's actions during the raids, claiming she obstructed the probe by arriving at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake and Jain's south Kolkata home. The agency has named Banerjee as a respondent in the case, referring to her in her capacity as TMC chairperson rather than solely as chief minister- a point contested by TMC counsel Kalyan Banerjee, who argued the labelling was improper. The ED has also urged that senior state police officials, including the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Kolkata Police Commissioner (CP), be added as parties, alleging their involvement or complicity in the interference. ASG Raju reiterated this demand, highlighting the need for accountability from these figures to ensure an impartial investigation.

The courtroom session, which lasted about 82 minutes and was live-streamed to prevent overcrowding after a chaotic previous hearing on January 9, featured sharp exchanges between the counsels. TMC advocate Menaka Guruswamy defended the party's petition, arguing it stemmed from legitimate concerns over the security of political strategy data stored with I-PAC, a firm closely associated with TMC's election campaigns. She accused the ED of targeting the consultancy ahead of polls, calling it an "extraordinary sign of bullying" and inappropriate for a federal agency. Guruswamy also objected to Raju's casual reference to the chief minister by her first name, urging decorum from the law officer.

Raju countered by questioning the TMC's standing in the case, labelling it a "stranger" to the raids since the searched premises belonged to I-PAC and Jain, neither of whom had filed the plea. He argued that the TMC's fears were unfounded and that the real issue was Banerjee's unauthorised removal of evidence, which the ED now seeks to recover through its demands in both the high court and Supreme Court petitions.

The adjournment aligns with the ED's strategy to prioritise the Supreme Court proceedings, where it has sought identical reliefs, including a CBI takeover of the probe and the return of allegedly removed items. Sources indicate the apex court, with a bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vijay Bishnoi, may take up the SLP as early as today, potentially influencing the trajectory of the case.
TMC accused the ED of political vendetta and overreach, while the agency maintains its actions are strictly investigative. Banerjee has publicly defended her visit to the raid sites, claiming it was to ensure law and order and criticizsing the ED for conducting operations without proper coordination with state authorities.