NEW DELHI: Terming the conflict between Enforcement Directorate (ED) and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as very serious, with wider implications, Supreme Court Thursday issued look to the CM and bid officials on the central agency’s plea to provoke motion in opposition to them for preventing it from discharging its duty in the alleged coal scam case.
The court granted them two weeks to file responses and stayed the FIR registered by the West Bengal police in opposition to ED officials.
I-PAC Raid Row: SC Halts WB Police FIRs in opposition to ED, Seeks Mamata’s Respond
“We are of the prima facie opinion that the present petition has raised a serious issue related to the investigation by ED or other central agencies and its interference by state agencies,” a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M Pancholi talked about. “According to us, for furtherance of rule of law in the country, and to allow each organ to function independently, it is necessary to examine the issue so that the offenders are not allowed to be protected under the shield of the law enforcement agencies of a particular state,” the bench talked about.
The equivalent area might perhaps perhaps slash up in a style of states if these disorders remained undecided, it talked about.
The raze outcome of this litigation would enjoy significance as clashes between Centre and opposition-governed states have faith change into frequent, with the bid blaming Centre for utilizing its agencies, in particular CBI and ED, for political capabilities and the Centre accusing the states for safeguarding their depraved ministers and officials by now not allowing its probe agency to honest.
It talked about, “The larger questions involved in the present manner, which if allowed to remain undecided, would further worsen the situation and there will be a situation of lawlessness prevailing in one or the other state, considering that different political outfits are governing different places.” “True that any central agency does not have any power to interfere with election work of any party. But if central agency is bona fide investigating any serious offence, the question arises whether in the guise of taking shield of party activities, agencies can be restricted from carrying out duties,” the SC talked about.The bench, on the outset, raised the query of maintainability of Enforcement Directorate’s writ petition. Nonetheless it made up its mind to explore the petition after solicitor authorized Tushar Mehta defined how the incident took area and the vogue whereby Calcutta excessive court used to be prevented from listening to its plea on the first date. “This is serious and we have to examine it,” the bench talked about after SG Mehta’s argument.Mehta, also flanked by additional solicitors authorized S V Raju and Vikramajit Banerjee, informed SC that the CM, alongside with senior bid police officials, alongside side the DGP, barged into the premises where ED used to be conducting its raid in an unlawful coal mining ‘scam’ and took away evidence.
He talked about the CM and bid officials staged a dharna and prevented the agency from discharging its duty. “If no action is taken then the central force would get demoralised.
.. Let erring officers be put on suspension to set an example that they cannot do dharna and block investigation,” the SG talked about.Mehta informed the bench that this used to be now not the first time that such an incident had taken area, and earlier, CBI officers were arrested by Bengal police after they went to query the then Kolkata police commissioner.ED’s plea used to be strongly objected to by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Shyam Diwan, exhibiting for the CM, the bid and its officials, respectively. They submitted that ED’s motion used to be supposed to disrupt the upcoming West Bengal meeting elections.Questioning the motive on the abet of the raid of I-PAC premises, a political consultant of the Mamata-led TMC, Sibal, exhibiting for her, talked about, “The first question which arises is why was there a need to go there in the midst of an election? The last statement in the coal mining scam was recorded in Feb 2024.
What were they doing in 2024 and 2025, and why are they so keen in the midst of elections in 2026? If you get hold of the information, how will we fight the elections? This is why the party chairperson (Mamata) has the right to go there.
It is the property of the party…It is a completely mala fide exercise by ED to disturb the election process by gathering confidential information.”Singhvi submitted that ED, which first moved the HC, is resorting to “forum shopping” by submitting a case in SC.
He talked about the venture shall be examined in HC. As the bench raised the venture of commotion created in the excessive court on first listening to on Jan 9, Singhvi talked about emotions were running excessive on the first day but the listening to went on with ease on Wednesday. He additional submitted that every and every body amongst the quest used to be completed peacefully as as per the panchnama, which is diametrically opposite the competition raised in the petition.
He talked about native police used to be to starting up with in sad as the quest operations began at 6am, and the e mail communication used to be despatched fully at 11.30am.The bench, after listening to each and every the perimeters, handed an record and also stayed FIR lodged by the bid in opposition to ED officials and directed the police to contend with CCTV footage and a style of evidence.
