New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over allegations that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee interfered during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) search, and asked whether central agencies should be left helpless if a chief minister suddenly arrives during a raid.
The matter stems from an ED search conducted on January 8 at the Kolkata office of I-PAC, a firm that manages the election campaign operations of the Trinamool Congress. The search was linked to cases involving alleged coal smuggling and money laundering.
According to the ED’s petition, Banerjee went to the residence of I-PAC director Prateek Jain while the search was underway and took away a laptop, a mobile phone and certain documents. The ED subsequently moved the Supreme Court against her.
A bench of Justices Prasad Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria heard the matter again. Senior advocate Shivam Divan, appearing for the West Bengal government, argued that allowing a central agency to sue a state government endangers the federal structure and claimed such agencies do not have authority to initiate proceedings against state governments.
When the state sought more time to respond, citing new allegations, the bench noted that the reply had already been filed 10 days earlier and said the hearing would continue, adding that no one can dictate to the court when a matter should be taken up.
