“Emotions Cannot Go Out of Hand”: Supreme Court on Mamata Banerjee–ED Row

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the tense situation surrounding the Enforcement Directorate’s probe involving West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, saying that “emotions cannot go out of hand repeatedly” during judicial proceedings.

Hearing the ED’s petition, the top court said it was disturbed by the scenes of chaos reported during recent proceedings in the Calcutta High Court and made it clear that emotions cannot repeatedly cross limits in such serious matters.

The case relates to ED searches conducted at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm I-PAC, which works with the Trinamool Congress, and at the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain.

The central agency has accused Mamata Banerjee and senior state police officials of interfering with the investigation. According to the ED, the Chief Minister’s presence at the search site and the alleged removal of documents hampered the probe.

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Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta alleged that the situation amounted to “mob-like conduct” and claimed that the Calcutta High Court proceedings on January 9 were disrupted by a large group of lawyers not connected to the case.

He told the Supreme Court that the atmosphere was so charged that the High Court had to adjourn the hearing. The bench of Justices Prashant Mishra and Vipul Pancholi asked whether the court had been turned into a protest site, underlining the seriousness of the issue.

The ED also sought action against West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and other senior officers, arguing that a fair investigation would not be possible if state authorities were involved in the alleged obstruction.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Mamata Banerjee and the state government, rejected the ED’s claims.

They argued that the agency’s actions were politically motivated, especially with elections approaching, and questioned why the ED moved both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court on similar issues.

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They also maintained that Mamata Banerjee had gone to the I-PAC office to protect confidential election-related data.

The Supreme Court said it would issue notice in the matter and examine the allegations carefully, while reminding all sides that repeated loss of restraint cannot be justified in a constitutional process.

(With inputs from agencies)