A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court rejected an interim stay on the Enforcement Directorate’s decision to freeze three Trinamool Congress bank accounts holding Rs 440 crore. Despite the plea from the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, the court upheld the “debit restrictions” until further notice. The freeze, initially imposed by the bank following police instructions, remains in place.
The Enforcement Directorate enforced debit restrictions on the accounts due to suspicious transactions totaling Rs 164 crore. Despite previous partial withdrawal orders, the freeze continues. The court declined to interfere with the ED’s decision, leaving the accounts frozen and maintaining the debit restrictions.
The ED sought details of transactions worth Rs 164 crore from a private sector commercial bank where one of the frozen accounts is held. Additionally, 12 other Trinamool Congress accounts with over Rs 550 crore combined deposits faced similar debit restrictions. The freeze on these accounts began following requests from party officials and rebel faction members over concerns of potential misuse of funds.
