KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea seeking the registration of an FIR against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, citing unmanageable chaos inside the courtroom.
The adjournment came a day after high drama unfolded, when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stormed two locations, including the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain, amid the ED raids and took away documents, a mobile phone and a laptop.
Justice Suvra Ghosh adjourned the hearing till January 14 after those not connected with the petition refused to leave the courtroom despite repeated requests.
Earlier, the ED had also filed a case against Mamata in the High Court and urged the court to direct a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against her.
The agency further appealed to the acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul to hold an immediate hearing of the case; however, the plea was rejected.
Some lawyers in the court said the judge did not intervene in the ED’s plea as a judicial order had already been passed by Justice Ghosh fixing January 14 as the next date of hearing.
The central investigating agency alleged that Mamata, despite being a chief minister, was “obstructing investigation” and “defending those involved in coal smuggling and money laundering”.
The ruling TMC had also moved the court against the ED.
Mamata accused ED of stealing the party's election documents. She claimed that the raid was politically motivated and was engineered by the BJP.
The investigating agency denied the allegations, saying that the search was "evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment."
“They came to collect our party's hard disk, candidate list, party strategy and party plan. Is it the duty of ED and Amit Shah? Amit Shah is a nasty and naughty Home Minister who can’t protect our country,” she had said while addressing the media on Thursday.
"No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards," the ED said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The family of Pratik Jain has also filed a complaint with the police against the ED, alleging theft of important documents during the raid, the police said.