Mamata Banerjee Accused of Interfering with ED Search, TMC Petition Dismissed

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The Calcutta High Court has disposed of a petition filed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), following the agency's claim that no sensitive data was seized from I-PAC, the TMC's poll strategy consultant. The ED had conducted a search at the residence and office of Pratik Jain, I-PAC director, on January 8. The ED had accused TMC chief Mamata Banerjee of storming into the search operations and taking away documents and a laptop, which the agency claimed were evidence in its probe into coal smuggling and hawala transactions in West Bengal. The ED's petition, which is being heard by the Supreme Court, seeks a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged interference by Banerjee. The Additional Solicitor General, SV Raju, appeared virtually before the Calcutta High Court and argued that the TMC's petition was not maintainable, as it was filed by a person who was not present during the search operations and had no first-hand information. Raju also presented seizure lists that showed no documents or electronic devices were seized by the ED from Jain's premises. The court accepted the ED's claim and disposed of the TMC's petition. The TMC, however, maintained that I-PAC had been authorized by the party to work as its election strategist, and the person who filed the petition was authorized by the party to do so. The TMC also accepted the ED's statement that nothing was seized from Jain's premises. The development comes as the ED continues its probe into coal smuggling and hawala transactions in West Bengal. The CBI had registered a FIR in November 2020, and the ED had conducted searches at several premises across West Bengal and Delhi on January 8.