New Delhi, February 3: The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate‘s (ED) petition against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the state government regarding the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) raid case. The next hearing is scheduled for February 10.
The ED alleges that the state government and Chief Minister interfered with the central agency’s investigation. The petition states that during the raid at the I-PAC office in Kolkata and the residence of co-founder Pratik Jain, the West Bengal government and Mamata Banerjee intervened.
The ED has also requested the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state’s Director General of Police, and the Kolkata Police Commissioner. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, described the situation as a serious threat to democracy, stating that central officials were intimidated and obstructed from fulfilling their legal duties.
In a previous hearing, the Supreme Court had stayed the FIR and ordered that CCTV footage and other digital data from the searched premises be preserved. The court granted two weeks for the Chief Minister and senior police officials to submit affidavits.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the West Bengal government, argued that the ED’s petition was not maintainable and constituted forum shopping, as similar petitions were already pending in the Kolkata High Court, which had adequate remedies available.
During today’s hearing, SG Tushar Mehta informed the court that the West Bengal government’s response was received only today, necessitating additional time for the ED to respond. Consequently, the court rescheduled the hearing to February 10.
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