"CM Mamata Banerjee Actively Obstructed ED's Investigation During I-PAC Raids," SG Mehta tells Supreme Court
Enforcement Directorate has alleged that its officials were obstructed while conducting a search on January 8 at the office of I-PAC, the political consultant engaged by the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
The Supreme Court today heard submissions from the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its plea against the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her interference with the raids conducted at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm I-PAC.
"The sitting Chief Minister has actively caused obstruction in investigation...Rule of Law ceases to operate when executive uses state machinery to obstruct investigation..," SG Mehta told a bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria.
"Mamata Banerjee with hundreds of police officers entered the premises around 12.40 PM..they took away documents collected by the Ed officers..Computer backup was stopped midway..Mopible phones of IPAC employees were also taken away..The person who was part of the syndicate was being protected in this manner..", the bench was further told.
Arguing on maintainability of the Article 32 petition filed by the ED, SG Mehta highlighted the total failure of law and order in West Bengal. "This is a case of illegal smuggling of coal, total amount runs to 2700 crores..The ED and its officers, who are also citizens of India discharging their statutory functions are seeking protection of their fundamental rights..the raid was based on chain of investigation..The raid happened at ten different premises..they were not tom dick or harry who entered, we presented an authorisation letter...during the search police arrived and asked the ED officers to inform the loacl police if they wanted to constinue the search..various devices were taken..which were relevant for PMLA investigation..", he added.
Calling for an CBI investigation into the incident, SG said, "This is not an isolated incident, there is a pattern...this is not a standalone case..The Chief Minister has made a pattern to take law in her own hands..and misuse the state police whenever a crime is being investigated.."
Yesterday, while hearing the case court had come down sharply on Mamata Banerjee over allegations that she interfered with an ongoing investigation, observing that such conduct “puts democracy in peril.” “This is not a dispute between the State and the Union,” the Bench had observed. “A Chief Minister of any State cannot walk into the midst of an investigation, put the democracy in peril, and then say don’t convert this into a dispute between the State and the Union,” it said.
The Court further remarked that such a situation was unprecedented and went beyond conventional federal disputes. “We never thought that in this country a day would come where a sitting Chief Minister would walk into the office where an investigating agency is probing a case,” the Bench said.
The controversy stems from an incident earlier this year when Banerjee allegedly entered premises linked to I-PAC during ED search operations and purportedly removed documents and electronic devices. The ED claims that the materials were crucial to its investigation in a money laundering case linked to alleged coal smuggling activities.
Earlier, the bench had raised sharp questions to the West Bengal government over its objection to the maintainability of a plea filed by the ED, asking whether officers of the agency cease to enjoy fundamental rights merely because they are government officials.
Court was hearing the plea filed by ED against the West Bengal Chief Minister and certain state police officers over their obstruction of a search at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC. Recently, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra had told court that ED must justify how it has been weaponized in the state. In a sharp response, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju had said, "It has not been weaponized, it has been terrorized..".
In a complete reversal of her stance, Mamata Banerjee had told the Court that ED allowed her to retrieve devices and physical files during its search at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC, which works with the All India Trinamool Congress.
On January 15, the court had issued notice on petitions filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and its officers alleging interference by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior state police officials during a search conducted at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Prateek Jain.
Case Title: Directorate of Enforcement v. The State of West Bengal
Bench: Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria
Hearing Date: April 23, 2026