New Delhi: In its writ petition before the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior police officers of committing an act of robbery when she allegedly took away digital devices and documents from its possession in Kolkata.
Additionally, Mamata and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party workers were accused of using their influence to prevent proceedings when the Calcutta High Court was scheduled to hear the ED’s petition last week.
The ruckus inside the courtroom was orchestrated by TMC members through a WhatsApp group in which workers were asked to assemble there, the ED petition alleged.
Because there was no hearing Friday, the ED moved the writ petition before the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking similar directions, including a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, against Mamata and senior police officers.
The agency made these submissions in the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which empowers the court to examine and issue appropriate directions for protecting fundamental rights.
On 8 January, Mamata rushed to the residence of I-PAC director Prateek Jain shortly after reports of ED raids emerged, alleging that the agency was attempting to gather information about her party’s activities and plans ahead of the Bengal polls.
The ED denied the allegation and alleged that while police officers were briefing the Kolkata Police chief over the search proceedings, Mamata entered Jain’s premises despite a “categorical request” not to interfere in the proceedings. She took away digital devices and documents from the ED’s assistant director-level officer who was leading the search, it alleged earlier in its plea to the High Court.
“It is because of this peculiar and unfortunate situation the petitioners were constrained to approach the Calcutta High Court by filing a writ petition under Article 226 in a haste praying inter alia for urgent reliefs including registration of FIR and investigation to be carried out by the CBI,” the ED submitted in the latest petition filed before the Supreme Court.
Such is the clout and illegal tactics of Mamata and her party members that they were “hell bent on seeing that proceedings before the High Court do not take place by creating a ruckus and commotion in the court,” it said.
This, the ED said, prompted the High Court to refrain from hearing and adjourned the matter with a judicial order recording that the environment is not conducive for hearing.
“The fact that the CM’s supporters are involved in creating a ruckus is evidenced from the WhatsApp message in the WhatsApp group by party members to come and gather in huge numbers in the court. As a result of the tactics by the Respondent 2 (read, Mamata) and her followers, the remedy under Article 226 of the Constitution has become illusory in the facts of the present case.”
The ED has sought two criminal cases to be probed by the CBI to cover the incidents that took place during searches at the residence of Jain as well as the I-PAC office.
Apart from the agency, four of its officers have also moved the top court seeking similar instructions.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has also filed a caveat before the top court, requesting that the court not pass an order before hearing its submissions.
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A ‘pattern’
The ED has submitted a sequence of events at Jain’s residence before and after Mamata’s arrival, alleging that the CM, along with 100 policemen, including the state and city police chief, barged into the premises during its search.
Because they removed the evidence and entered the premises illegally, the ED argued that the acts constituted theft and criminal trespass.
Overall, the ED argued that Mamata along with the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Kolkata, should be booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
It drew the court’s attention to a series of confrontations between Mamata and central agencies in the past, including in 2019 when she protested outside the then-Kolkata Police chief Rajiv Kumar’s residence. Kumar was to be questioned by the CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam, which was unearthed during his tenure as the Bidhannagar police commissioner in 2013.
The CBI was not allowed to question the police commissioner or search his premises and instead, two CBI officers were arrested and taken to a police station and intimidated, the ED said.
The ED also flagged an incident in which Mamata barged into the CBI regional office along with heavy police deployment, with a crowd pelting stones at the office. A large crowd was also sent to the residence of the CBI joint director, who made frantic phone calls to save himself and his family, it submitted.
This was in June 2021, when TMC leaders Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee, and Sovan Chatterjee were arrested in connection with the Narada sting operation case.
Mamata reached the CBI’s Kolkata office and protested, alleging that her party leaders were arrested “without due procedure” and daring the agency to arrest her too, it said.
Later, the CBI had accused Mamata of interfering in the probe and submitted before the High Court that the accused were not taken into custody “as a result of the terror created by and at the behest of the arrested accused persons” by the presence of the CM and the others.
“It is submitted that it is a matter of record of court proceedings that the Respondent no.2 has made a pattern to take law into her hands and misuse the police whenever any crime is investigated, which is not of her likings or which has the potential of some incriminating material against her ministers, party workers or few officials working in cahoots is likely to be found,” the agency said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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