SC Raps Mamata Banerjee For Interfering In I-PAC Probe: ‘Put Democracy In Jeopardy’
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for interfering in the I-PAC probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying her actions put democracy in jeopardy.
A bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria heard the ED’s writ petition alleging that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and state police officers obstructed its search of the office of I-PAC, the political consultancy firm employed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), in January.
“It’s not a State-Centre dispute. It’s a case where an individual who happens to be a Chief Minister walked in the midst of a probe and put democracy in peril," the court observed.
“You have taken us through writings of Seervai, Ambedkar, but none of them would have conceived this situation in this country that one day a sitting Chief Minister will walk into the office during an ongoing investigation," the court observed.
The ED launched simultaneous search operations at 10 premises across West Bengal and Delhi in January, in connection with a money laundering probe into a coal smuggling syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majee. The targets of the search included office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain, a key strategist for the TMC.
While the ED was conducting raids at Pratik’s residence, Mamata Banerjee suddenly appeared at the site, accompanied by security personnel, leading to a tense standoff with central officials. The probe agency alleged that she took away physical documents and electronic evidence, disrupting the legal process.
Banerjee has maintained that the documents and data related to her political party and accused the agency of targeting her and the Trinamool Congress. She slammed the raids as a “nasty" attempt at political vendetta, and also led a massive political march in Kolkata.
The agency has maintained that the searches are strictly “evidence-based" and not targeted at any political establishment or party office. The ED moved a plea into the Supreme Court after failing to get urgent relief from the Calcutta High Court, where it sought a CBI investigation into the role of Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata.
