NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the TMC led-West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the cases registered by the State against officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegations of theft during the central agency's raids at the premises of political consultancy firm I-PAC earlier this month.
The court observed that the petition filed by the ED against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's alleged obstruction of the raid, raised serious questions regarding the state government's interference in investigations by central agencies.
"We are of the prima facie view 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. There would be lawlessness in the country if it does not examine the issues raised by the ED," the apex court bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul Pancholi said.
"According to us, for adherence of rule of law in country and to allow each organ to function independently, it is necessary to examine the issue so that offenders are not allowed to be protected under the seal of law enforcing agencies of a particular State," the court said.
The top court also issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Personnel & Training, Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress government in Bengal on ED's plea seeking the suspension of Bengal's DGP Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, among others.
In a fresh plea filed in the SC, the ED has sought the suspension of top officials of West Bengal police, including DGP Kumar, alleging that the officials aided CM Mamata in obstruction of investigation and evidence theft.
In a different plea, ED alleged that CM Mamata's presence at the search site and the alleged removal of documents had an intimidating effect on its officers and seriously compromised the agency's ability to discharge its statutory functions independently.
The central probe agency sought the court's directions for an independent inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) contending that a neutral central agency is necessary in view of the alleged interference by the state executive.
Meanwhile, multiple cases have been registered against ED officials in West Bengal, over allegation of theft of documents during the search. The state government has also filed a caveat in the SC seeking that no order should be passed without hearing it.
West Bengal witnessed an unprecedented clash between CM Mamata and ED on January 8, as the TMC supremo arrived with a large group of police officers at the residence of the I-PAC chief when the raids were going on.
Mamata alleged that the central agency was attempting to seize hard disks and internal documents containing TMC's sensitive organisational data. She called the raids "politically motivated and unconstitutional."
Hours later, the ED filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court alleging that the CM "obstructed" the raids and took away key evidence.