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3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 18, 2026 05:31 PM IST
The court had on January 15 issued notice to Banerjee and top state police officials on the ED’s plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the January 8 incident.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea seeking a probe into the alleged obstruction of its search operations on political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its founder, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others, with the agency claiming that it was “terrorised” and the latter alleging that it is “weaponised”.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Kolkata Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Priyabrat Roy, told a bench of Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan that the agency ought to justify its “weaponisation”.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the ED, was quick to hit back. “It has not been weaponised, it has been terrorised,” he said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the agency is likely to file its rejoinder affidavit on Wednesday, following which the bench decided to adjourn the hearing to March 18.
The court had on January 15 issued notice to Banerjee and top state police officials on the ED’s plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the January 8 incident. It also stayed further proceedings in the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials in connection with the raids and directed that CCTV and other devices containing the footage of the search operations be preserved.
The ED’s petition alleged that Banerjee and others “barged into the premises under the search” and “they not only started intimidating and threatening the officers but also snatched the files and electronic evidence containing incriminating material from them”. It further claimed that they also “snatched” material “earlier taken into possession by the officers…. during their official duty as a part of the collection of evidence under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act”.
In its counter-affidavit, the West Bengal Police denied that its officials had intimidated and threatened ED officials who were carrying out the searches.
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State police officials, including Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and DCP Roy, said that on the contrary, it was the ED officials who “behaved in a high-handed manner, and have obstructed West Bengal Police”.
While the ED claimed “a shocking state-of-affairs in West Bengal”, the state in a separate affidavit “denied that the said writ petition discloses any shocking state of affair in West Bengal” and added that “it is unfortunate that a State authority like the ED has chosen to make pompous and unfounded statements without a shred of evidence through perverse generalisations with the sole motive of prejudicing” the court.
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