The Supreme Court is scheduled to address a petition by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday. The ED alleges that its recent search operations at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office and co-founder Pratik Jain’s residence were obstructed by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The ED claims that its officials faced resistance during the searches and were impeded from performing their duties as per the law.
The ED has sought urgent judicial intervention, stating that the interference by West Bengal authorities compromised the integrity of its investigation. The Central anti-money laundering agency asserts that the search operations were hindered by the state government. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has filed a caveat with the Supreme Court to ensure that no interim relief is granted to the ED without hearing the state’s perspective.
In a related development, the Calcutta High Court addressed a petition accusing CM Mamata Banerjee of misusing her constitutional position by obstructing the duties of Central agency officials. Additionally, counter-petitions were filed by Pratik Jain and the Trinamool Congress in response to the matter. The Trinamool Congress alleges that the ED raid on I-PAC was aimed at seizing documents related to the party’s poll strategy for the 2026 Assembly elections and sharing them with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
