Probe agency ED approaches Supreme Court in showdown with Mamata Banerjee

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, January 10, 2026: West Bengal government officials with support of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stopped Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials from carrying out searches and seizing material linked to the ED’s investigation into an alleged coal smuggling scam, the central agency said in a petition to the Supreme Court today.

The ED reached the Supreme Court a day after the Calcutta High Court adjourned the hearing of its petition alleging interference by Banerjee during searches at the house of political consultancy firm I-PAC director Pratik Jain.

I-PAC has been working on the election strategy for Banerjee’s ruling Trinamool Congress, ahead of the election to be held by April.

Physical documents and electronic devices were forcibly removed from the premises in the presence of senior state officials, the ED said in its petition. The probe agency narrated the sequence of events and called the entire matter a "showdown" due to the Bengal government’s actions.

The ED filed the petition under the principles enshrined in Article 32 of the Constitution, which allows every person the right to approach the Supreme Court to enforce their fundamental rights.

The ED said interference by state authorities, including the police, clearly proved the integrity of the investigation into the coal smuggling case has been compromised. It asked the Supreme Court to order the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into the events that unfolded during the search at the I-PAC building.

The ED said its "right to conduct a fair and independent investigation has been curtailed by the state machinery".

Mamata Banerjee Hits Back

Banerjee filed two complaints with two different police stations over the ED’s searches at the I-PAC chief’s Kolkata house and another property on the city’s outskirts. The state police have also filed a suo moto complaint.

The Bengal government also reached the Supreme Court with a caveat that no order should be passed without hearing it in connection with the ED searches.

The chief minister yesterday led a massive protest march, and alleged the BJP-led Centre has been misusing central agencies to steal the Trinamool’s election strategy. Walking in south Kolkata, a route long associated with her street politics, Banerjee transformed the ED action into a show of political mobilisation, signalling that the ruling party intends to fight the battle not only in courtrooms but also on the streets.

As the street mobilisation unfolded, the confrontation simultaneously spilled into the judicial arena, with the Calcutta High Court adjourning till January 14 the hearing on petitions related to the ED’s search of I-PAC.

The Bengal assembly has 294 seats.