A landmark legal battle unfolds in the Supreme Court today, pitting the Enforcement Directorate against West Bengal’s top leadership over an audacious raid disruption. At the heart: claims that CM Mamata Banerjee orchestrated interference in ED’s search of I-PAC headquarters and co-founder Prateek Jain’s Kolkata home.
The cause list confirms Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi will deliberate ED’s demand for FIRs against Banerjee, DGP, and Kolkata CP for flouting legal protocols during the anti-money laundering operation.
Recapping the flashpoint, ED operatives encountered orchestrated resistance, including police complicity and public unrest. The apex court swiftly intervened, suspending West Bengal’s retaliatory FIR and underscoring threats to national investigative integrity.
With notices served and responses due, the bench invoked evidence lockdown protocols for CCTV and devices. It sternly noted possibilities of statewide disorder from unchecked state meddling in central matters.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta thundered that democracy yielded to ‘goondaraj,’ with ED staff terrorized. The state’s rebuttal, via Abhishek Manu Singhvi, dismissed it as forum-shopping, highlighting parallel High Court filings.
Beyond the courtroom drama, this saga amplifies debates on federalism, agency autonomy, and political weaponization of probes. Stakeholders await judicial wisdom to navigate these choppy waters, potentially setting precedents for inter-governmental harmony in law enforcement.