NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on Thursday take up a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging obstruction of its search at I-PAC office by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The state government has also filed a caveat in the SC, seeking that no order be passed without hearing it. A bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M Pancholi will hear the ED’s plea.
In a related development, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday closed a plea filed by the Trinamool Congress seeking protection of sensitive political data the ED may have seized from I-PAC. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for ED, told the HC that the agency did not seize anything from I-PAC director Pratik Jain’s office or home, adding it was Mamata who entered the search site and took away documents and electronic evidence.
In its plea before the SC, the ED sought directions for a CBI probe into the alleged interference by the state executive. The agency said the CM’s presence and confrontational act had an intimidating effect on its officers. The petition was filed against the state of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DGP Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, and South Kolkata Dy Commissioner Priyabatra Roy.
West Bengal Police has also filed an FIR against ED officers over the January 8 I-PAC raids.