&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Put democracy in jeopardy’: SC raps CM Mamata Banerjee for interfering in ED raid at I-PAC premises")
The Supreme Court on Wednesday castigated West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for barging in and interfering in an Enforcement Directorate search at the Kolkata residence of Pratik Jain, co-founder and director of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee, or I-PAC, in January as part of a money laundering investigation.
The top court described the socio-political atmosphere in the poll-bound state as an “extraordinary situation,” while referring to the CM’s entry into the premises mid-raid and forcefully taking away a laptop, phone and files.
The court observed that such an act by a sitting chief minister put democracy in jeopardy.
“This is not a dispute between the state and the union. We never thought that in this country, a day will come when a sitting CM will walk into the office where some investigating agency is. The chief minister of any state cannot walk in in the midst of an investigation, put the democracy in peril, and then say that ‘don’t convert this into a dispute between the state and the union’. This is per se an act committed by an individual who happens to be the chief minister keeping the whole democracy in jeopardy,” said a bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria.
‘Court cannot shut its eyes to practical realities’
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The court told the counsels arguing on behalf of the West Bengal administration that they may argue on abstract legal principles, but the court cannot shut its eyes to the practical realities in the state.
The Supreme Court also took note of the seven judicial officers, including three women, being held hostage for several hours inside the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office (BDO) in Bengal’s Malda district by a crowd, which alleged deletion of names of genuine voters from the electoral rolls.
“This is an extraordinary situation. Before the other bench where the FIR is under question, we have seen the situation that several judicial officers had been kept hostage. And you want the petitioner should have gone to a magistrate under section 200? We cannot shut our eyes to the reality of what’s happening. We cannot lose sight of the practical situation which is present in the state,” said the top court bench.
The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court was forced to intervene personally, placing group calls to the home secretary and the Director General of Police before the judicial officers were rescued late at night.
‘Constitution framers would have disapproved’
The top court said the Constitution framers would have disapproved of the act.
“You have taken us through the writings of HM Seervai, BR Ambedkar, but none of them would have conceived this situation in this country that one day a sitting Chief Minister will walk into the office during an ongoing investigation,” the court said.
The stinging remark came a day before polling for assembly elections in the state.
The ED had carried out searches at multiple locations, including Kolkata and Delhi, as part of a probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to I-PAC. The ED said its action is not politically motivated and that the search is evidence-based and not targeted at any political establishment.
I-PAC has been the TMC’s political consultant.
I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel was also recently arrested by the ED for his alleged involvement in the coal scam.
