I-PAC raids: SC stays FIR against ED officials, sends notice to Mamata govt

The Supreme Court directed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DGP Rajeev Kumar and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits within two weeks

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the first information reports (FIRs) registered by the West Bengal Police against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers and issued notices to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, and others. The notices were issued in response to petitions filed by the ED accusing the state authorities of obstructing its search operations in West Bengal.

 

A Bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul Pancholi also sought responses from the respondents on the ED’s plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, Bar and Bench reported.

 

 

Court flags 'serious issues' of interference

 

The top court observed that the petitions raised "serious issues" about interference in investigations carried out by central agencies. The top court added that failing to examine such issues could lead to a breakdown of law and order.

 

“According to us, large questions have been raised and are involved in the present matter which if allowed to remain undecided would further worsen the situation and there will be a situation of lawlessness prevailing in one or other state, considering that different outfits are government different places,” the Bench said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.

 

FIRs against ED officers stayed

 

The top court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials who had conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain.

 

The court also directed Mamata Banerjee, the DGP and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits within two weeks.

 

“In the meanwhile, it is directed that the respondents shall preserve the CCTV cameras and other storage devices containing the footage of both the premises searched and the CCTV cameras and other storage devices containing the footage of near areas,” the Bench ordered.

 

‘Why start this just before elections?’, asks Sibal

 

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s version of events and raised doubts over the timing of the searches.

 

Sibal said that the Enforcement Directorate chose to act close to the election period, despite the case being several years old. “Why was the need to start this just before elections. This is in your petition that the last statement was recorded in February 2024,” Sibal told the top court.

 

He further said that the Enforcement Directorate had waited for nearly two years before carrying out searches at premises linked to election-related work. “IPAC we all know that it takes care of elections in West Bengal. Formal contract between TMC and IPAC in 2021,” he submitted. He argued that conducting searches at such locations risked exposing sensitive and confidential electoral data of the political party.

 

According to Sibal, the ED was fully aware of the nature of the work carried out at I-PAC and the political sensitivity of the information stored there.

 

Sibal also rejected claims that there was a large-scale seizure of digital devices during the searches. Referring to official records and video footage, he said the ED’s allegations were incorrect. “Please see the video recording. It is a blatant lie that all digital devices were taken. See that panchnama also,” he said.

 

He added that only the phone and laptop belonging to Pratik Jain were seized and said that the search was conducted peacefully, without any obstruction.