TMC escalates its fight with the ED, demanding immediate return of “confidential and sensitive data” seized during raids on I-PAC. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government registers an FIR accusing the agency of illegally accessing protected political information.
WEST BENGAL: A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the political consultancy firm I-PAC, tensions escalated in West Bengal as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) requested the Calcutta High Court to order the agency to return “confidential and sensitive data” as well as documents that were seized.
In a statement, I-PAC expressed that the ED’s actions had raised “serious concerns” and established an “unsettling precedent,” while reaffirming its commitment to cooperate with the investigation.
Additionally, the police registered “Two FIRs” against the investigation agency and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) based on complaints made by the Chief Minister regarding the previous day’s events.
A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the political consultancy firm I-PAC, the political situation in West Bengal intensified.
These events occurred as West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee escalated her criticism of the BJP, accusing senior officials of profiting from the coal scam currently under investigation by the ED.
The principal petition filed with the High Court by the ED accuses West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of abusing her constitutional authority. The agency claims that the Chief Minister obstructed the official activities of ED officers during the raid and searches conducted at both the I-PAC office and Jain’s home.
Additionally, the ED has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry and has included the Chief Minister as a party in the case. The agency has also requested an investigation into the involvement of senior police officials who were reportedly present with the Chief Minister at the locations of the raids.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court denied the Enforcement Directorate’s request for an urgent hearing regarding the controversy related to its raid and search operations at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office and the residence of co-founder Pratik Jain.
The ED approached a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul after it was unable to get the matter heard earlier that day by the single judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh.
The ED asserts that these officials allegedly left the premises after collecting certain paper files and electronic documents during the ongoing operations. Two counter petitions have been submitted in this case one by Pratik Jain and the other by the Trinamool Congress.
The TMC’s petition contends that, as I-PAC is functioning as the party’s election strategy agency, the ED’s raids aimed to seize confidential documents related to the party’s electoral planning for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, with the intention of allegedly sharing this information with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In its plea to the High Court, the TMC requested that the court instructed,
“the respondents to return all articles including but not limited to the private, confidential and sensitive data, information, documents illegally seized in physical as well as electronic form belonging to the petitioner and or in relation to the operation, affairs, business of the petitioner illegally seized during the alleged search operation.”
A chaotic session in the High Court resulted in the postponement of hearings on petitions from both the ED and the TMC until January 14.
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