The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed the Trinamool Congress’s petition against Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at political consultancy firm I-PAC.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party had sought
preservation of political confidential data and protection of the same at the behest of the other respondent, which it alleged was seized by the probe agency.
However, the ED told the Calcutta High Court that it has not seized anything from the office of the I-PAC and its director, Prateek Jain.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the bench that nothing was seized by the probe agency, and that it was the Chief Minister who took away the files and devices.
A bench of Justice Ghosh noted that no seizure was effected from the offices of I-PAC or its director on January 8.
“In view of such submissions, nothing remains to be dealt with, and the application is disposed of,” the bench stated, disposing of the petition of the TMC.
ED Raids At I-PAC Office
The ED conducted search operations at 10 premises, including six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, linked to Anup Majee as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence. I-PAC has been associated with the TMC since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The raids at the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence turned into a bitter face-off between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as Mamata Banerjee rushed to the area and alleged political vendetta. She accused the BJP-led Centre of targeting her party ahead of elections by seizing the TMC’s internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
The ED had alleged in a press statement last week that Banerjee entered Jain’s residence on Loudon Road in Kolkata during the raids and “took away key evidence” and followed the same action at the I-PAC office.
A day later, Mamata Banerjee led a massive protest march in Kolkata, flanked by actors of the Bengali film industry. She accused the ED of acting as a political tool of the BJP to “steal” her party’s internal strategy, asserting that she did nothing wrong in reaching the premises linked to I-PAC during the central agency’s raids.
This is a developing story
