NEW DELHI: In a setback to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to her, state DGP Rajeev Kumar and others on the Enforcement Directorate’s petition seeking a CBI probe against them for allegedly obstructing the agency’s raids at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata.
Terming the alleged obstruction in the ED probe “very serious”, a Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul M Pancholi agreed to examine if a state’s law-enforcing agencies could interfere with a central agency’s probe into any serious offence.
The Bench stayed the FIRs lodged by the West Bengal Police against ED officials who raided Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) — a political consultancy firm — on January 8 in connection with an alleged coal pilferage scam. It also directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids.
Asking Mamata, Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and South Kolkata Deputy Commissioner Priyabatra Roy to respond to the ED petition in two weeks, the top court posted the matter for hearing on February 3.
“We are of the prima facie opinion that the present petition has raised a serious issue relating to the investigation by the ED or other central agencies, and interference by state agencies…For furtherance of the rule of law in the country, and to allow each organ to function independently, it’s necessary to examine the issue so that the offenders are not allowed to be protected under the shield of the law enforcement agencies of a particular state,” the Bench said.
“Larger questions are involved in the present manner, which if allowed to remain undecided, would further worsen the situation and there will be a situation of lawlessness prevailing in one state or the other, considering that different outfits are governing different places. True that any central agency does not have any power to interfere with the election work of any party, but if the central agency is bona fide investigating any serious offence, the question arises whether in the guise of taking shield of party activities, agencies can be restricted from carrying out power,” it wondered.
The order came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted on behalf of the ED that in the past also, Mamata interfered in the probe of central agencies. “This case reflects a very shocking pattern emerging. In the past also, whenever the statutory authorities exercised their power of investigation, the Chief Minister marched there. Officers, including the DGP and the Commissioner of Police, are accomplices and they accompany her. The uniformed police officers sit on dharna with political leaders,” Mehta told the Bench.
“Here, there was evidence that some incriminating material was lying on the premises of a company. The officers, exercising powers under Section 17 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, went there. The CM, along with the DGP and other police officials, barged into the house and took away material, including the mobile phone of an ED official. It’s an offence of theft,” the Solicitor General alleged.
She went to the media as if she had done some great thing, Mehta said, adding, “If we turn a blind eye to it, this kind of thing will continue, which will not only encourage officials not to discharge their duty but will also demoralise the central forces; the state forces will feel they can go with the CM. Let an example be set and the state officers concerned be suspended…”
The Bench said it was disturbed by the commotion at the Calcutta High Court during the hearing in the ED raids case as the High Court had to adjourn the hearing due to unmanageable chaos in the courtroom.
On behalf of the Chief Minister and West Bengal Government officials, senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the maintainability of the ED petition and contended that the matter should be heard by the Calcutta High Court first.
“It is a blatant lie that all digital devices were taken. The allegation that Mamata took all devices is a lie, substantiated by the ED’s own panchnama (search record)… The last statement in the coal scam was recorded in February 2024; what was the ED doing since then? Why so keen in the midst of elections,” Sibal asked.