Calcutta High Court Upholds Partial Access to Bank Accounts of Mamata Banerjees Faction

Kolkata, September 21 (Daily Kiran) : The Calcutta High Court has granted the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress permission to partially utilize funds from three bank accounts. This decision comes in light of the Election Commission of India (ECI) freezing the party’s name and election symbol.

Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, presiding over the case, clarified that the ECI’s order to temporarily suspend the name “All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Flower and Grass” election symbol does not affect the court’s previous ruling that granted access to the accounts.

He noted that the ECI has not issued a final decision; rather, it has only provided an interim order regarding the party’s name and symbol for the upcoming by-elections in the Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies scheduled for next month.

As a result, Justice Bhattacharya reaffirmed the court’s earlier decision, allowing the Mamata Banerjee-led faction to continue to use the reserves in the three bank accounts on a “partial” and “conditional” basis. The court ruled that the faction can access these funds until January 29, 2027.

Last week, the ECI’s interim order stated that neither the Mamata Banerjee faction nor the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee would be permitted to use the party’s name or election symbol at this time.

In response to the ECI’s interim order, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar argued that neither faction should have access to the three bank accounts, as they are registered under the name “All India Trinamool Congress.”

However, the court maintained its previous stance, citing that the ECI’s order was interim. The state police had previously frozen the accounts due to allegations of illegal transactions, prompting the Mamata Banerjee faction to challenge this decision in the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Bhattacharya had earlier appointed a special officer to manage the accounts. On July 9, the court ruled that the Mamata Banerjee faction would retain control over the accounts but would not be able to spend funds without oversight. The appointed officer is authorized to allocate funds for daily operations and employee salaries. This ruling will remain in effect until January 29 of the following year.

Additionally, the court instructed the police to investigate the alleged illegal transactions in these accounts and submit a report. During Monday’s hearing, the police provided an update on their investigation.