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The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 3) adjourned to February 10 the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea against the alleged obstruction and interference in its search raid at the premises of Trinamool Congress-linked political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata.
The top court had earlier issued notice to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other officials of the state administration, including senior police officials, seeking a response on the ED's plea.
The court had also stayed the FIR filed by the West Bengal Police against ED officials who had entered the I-PAC premises to undertake the investigation. The West Bengal government was also directed to preserve the CCTV cameras at I-PAC and other cameras containing the footage of nearby areas.
The court had dismissed the contentions raised by the West Bengal government challenging the maintainability of the ED's plea in the apex court. The court had stated that the issue involved larger constitutional questions that needed to be examined by it.
The ED on January 8 conducted searches at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the home of its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam.
Apart from providing political consultancy to the TMC, the I-PAC also manages the party's IT and media operations.
The firm's office in Salt Lake and Jain's residence on Loudon Street are among about 10 premises, including four in Delhi, being raided by the federal probe agency in the presence of central paramilitary teams.
The top court had earlier issued notice to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other officials of the state administration, including senior police officials, seeking a response on the ED's plea.
The court had also stayed the FIR filed by the West Bengal Police against ED officials who had entered the I-PAC premises to undertake the investigation. The West Bengal government was also directed to preserve the CCTV cameras at I-PAC and other cameras containing the footage of nearby areas.
The court had dismissed the contentions raised by the West Bengal government challenging the maintainability of the ED's plea in the apex court. The court had stated that the issue involved larger constitutional questions that needed to be examined by it.
The ED on January 8 conducted searches at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the home of its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam.
Apart from providing political consultancy to the TMC, the I-PAC also manages the party's IT and media operations.
The firm's office in Salt Lake and Jain's residence on Loudon Street are among about 10 premises, including four in Delhi, being raided by the federal probe agency in the presence of central paramilitary teams.
