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The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its recent search operations in Kolkata, during which it has alleged interference by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Bench and Hearing Schedule
As per the cause list released by the apex court, a Bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sandeep Mehta will hear the matter.
The court adjourned the hearing last week after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, sought more time to file a response to the counter affidavit submitted by the state government.
The Bench subsequently fixed February 10 as the next date of hearing.
In its plea, the ED has sought directions for the registration of FIRs against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Director General of Police, and the Kolkata Police Commissioner.
The Central agency has alleged that its officials were prevented from carrying out lawful duties during simultaneous searches at the office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain.
Rejecting the allegations, Chief Minister Banerjee has asserted that she neither interfered with nor obstructed the ED’s operations. In her counter affidavit, she stated that her brief visit to the premises was only to secure confidential and proprietary data belonging to the Trinamool Congress (AITC).
On January 8, 2026, she visited Jain’s residence on Loudon Street and I-PAC’s office in Bidhannagar after learning that someone was accessing sensitive political data linked to the party.
The affidavit claimed that the data was crucial to the party’s preparations for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.
Banerjee further maintained that ED officials present at the site raised no objections to her request and allowed her to retrieve certain devices and documents. She added that she left soon after, ensuring that the searches continued without disruption.
Allegations of Mala Fide Action
The Chief Minister has argued that neither the Trinamool Congress nor its functionaries face any accusation in the alleged coal scam, and therefore, the ED has no claim over the party’s internal data.
The affidavit has accused the agency of acting with mala fide intent, pointing to the timing of the raids ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections and alleging violations of safeguards under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had stayed FIRs lodged by the West Bengal Police against ED officials and directed the preservation of CCTV footage and digital evidence linked to the search operations.
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