Last Updated:
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged before the Calcutta High Court that Mamata Banerjee forcibly interfered with PMLA search operations and removed digital devices.
Mamata Banerjee during ED raids in Bengal (Photo: PTI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged before the Calcutta High Court that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “forcibly” interfered with lawful search and seizure operations conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and removed digital devices and key documents from the custody of its officers with the aid of state police personnel.
According to the ED’s submissions placed before the court, the Chief Minister entered the premises where authorised searches were underway and, along with state police personnel, “forcibly took possession of all digital devices along with key incriminating documents from the possession of the authorised officer.”
The agency further alleged that in one instance, files and electronic devices were taken away in the Chief Minister’s car.
The ED described the alleged actions as a “complete subversion of the rule of law caused by the political executive”, contending that interference with a search under Section 17 of the PMLA is per se illegal and unconstitutional.
It also alleged wrongful restraint and confinement of ED officers, terming the acts a direct obstruction of an ongoing investigation.
In its plea, the agency stated that digital devices, electronic storage media and documents were forcibly removed, seized away, concealed and stolen from lawful custody, amounting to theft of evidence, criminal trespass and concealment of material evidence.
The ED emphasised that digital evidence, once accessed or tampered with, stands irreversibly compromised, necessitating urgent judicial intervention.
The agency further submitted that when the political executive uses state machinery to obstruct investigation, the rule of law ceases to operate, and immediate interference by a constitutional court becomes necessary.
The ED asserted that in such circumstances, only an independent central agency insulated from state control can conduct a fair and credible investigation.
The ED brought the matter before Justice Suvra Ghosh of the Calcutta High Court, seeking the court’s intervention to ensure that its probe proceeds without hindrance.
The searches were conducted at the office and residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged multi-crore coal pilferage scam.
News agency PTI reported that during the searches, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee turned up at Jain’s residence in south Kolkata and later at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress’s internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
The court granted permission to the ED to file a petition in this regard, and the matter is likely to be taken up for hearing soon.
MAMATA BANERJEE, TMC MOVE COURT
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also moved court against the ED’s raid and search operations.
According to sources, the plea alleges that the ED seized confidential party documents and data related to the 2026 West Bengal elections, which the TMC says have no connection with any scheduled offence.
The petition describes the central agency’s action as malafide, colourable, and arbitrary, claiming a violation of the party’s internal and confidential files.
The case is expected to be heard by Justice Suvra Ghosh, along with petitions filed by the ED and Pratik Jain.
The Chief Minister also registered complaints at two Kolkata police stations, Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and Electronic Complex Police Station, over the searches at the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence.
The complaints were registered against unidentified individuals and did not name any ED officials or Central Armed Police Force personnel.
Kolkata Police also filed a suo motu complaint at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station.
ALSO READ | I-PAC Raid Row: Protest By TMC MPs Outside Amit Shah’s Office, Leaders Detained | Video
January 09, 2026, 12:28 IST
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
