The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 15, 2026) termed as very serious the allegations of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that it faced obstruction from the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the raid on the office of ‘Indian Political Action Committee’ (I-PAC) and the premises of its director in the case related to the alleged coal theft scam.

The bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul Pancholi said that it wants to review the case by issuing a notice. The bench commented orally, ‘This is a very serious matter; We will issue notice. We will have to review it. The Supreme Court also said that it is extremely distressed by the uproar in the Calcutta High Court during the hearing of the ED raid related case.

The Calcutta High Court had adjourned the hearing on petitions related to ED’s raids and seizure operations at places linked to political consultancy firm I-Pac till January 14, citing uncontrolled chaos inside the courtroom. At the outset of the hearing, the ED said that the West Bengal government’s “interference and obstruction” during the investigation agency’s raids reflected a very shocking trend.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, told the bench that in the past too, whenever statutory authorities exercised statutory power, Banerjee reached there and interfered. Tushar Mehta said, ‘This shows a very shocking trend.’ He said that this will further encourage such acts and will reduce the morale of the central forces.

The Solicitor General said, ‘States will feel that they can interfere, steal and then sit on strike. An example must be set; The officers who were clearly present there should be suspended. Tushar Mehta said that there is evidence from which it can be concluded that objectionable material was present in the I-PACK office.

He said, ‘Instruct the competent authority to take action and please take cognizance of what is happening. We are here to protect the fundamental rights of our officers. We are working under the law and do not confiscate for personal gain.

Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that during the hearing on the ED petition, a large number of lawyers and other people had entered the Calcutta High Court, after which the hearing of the case was adjourned. He told the Supreme Court, ‘This happens when democracy is replaced by mobocracy.’ Senior advocate Kapil Sibal opposed Mehta’s plea and said that the case should first be heard in the Calcutta High Court and proper judicial hierarchy should be followed. He claimed that ED is taking parallel action.

Kapil Sibal also cited the video recording of the raid and said, ‘It is a blatant lie that all the digital devices were taken. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that all the equipment was taken away is a lie, which is confirmed by ED’s own Panchnama. He said, ‘The last statement in the coal scam was recorded in February 2024; What was ED doing since then? Why so much haste during elections?

This petition of ED has been filed in the Supreme Court after the incidents of January 8 when the officials of the investigating agency had to face obstacles during the ED raids on the office of I-PACK in Salt Lake and the residence of its chief Prateek Jain in Kolkata in connection with the investigation related to the coal smuggling case. The investigating agency has alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the premises and took important evidence related to the investigation with herself.

The Chief Minister has accused the central agency of exceeding its jurisdiction and his party Trinamool Congress has denied the charge of obstructing the ED investigation. The state police has registered an FIR against the ED officials.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed another petition in the Supreme Court in the case related to the raid on the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of co-founder Prateek Jain. In the new petition, ED has demanded the removal of some top officials including West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar.

In the new petition, the ED alleged that these officers, along with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, obstructed the investigation and allegedly helped in theft of evidence. In its new application, ED has sought instructions to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), Government of India, that the concerned officers should be suspended. It has also been mentioned in the petition that DGP Rajiv Kumar, while previously holding the post of Kolkata Police Commissioner, had sat on a dharna with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Supreme Court will also hear another petition of ED on Thursday, in which it has been alleged that the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee obstructed the raid and search operation conducted at the office of I-PACK and the house of its co-founder Prateek Jain. The bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Sharma and Vipul M. Pancholi will hear this case.

Seeking immediate judicial intervention in the matter, the ED has claimed that its officers faced opposition during the search operation and were prevented from performing their duties as per law. The agency also claimed that the impartiality of its investigation was compromised by interference from West Bengal officials. However, the West Bengal government has also reached the Supreme Court, where it filed a caveat. The Bengal government requested that no order be passed without hearing its side.

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A hearing was held in the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) in the case of Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on the house of political consultancy firm I-PAC and its co-founder Prateek Jain. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju appeared on behalf of ED. During the hearing, he got angry when his mike was switched off.

According to Bar and Bench report, today’s hearing was held before Justice Surva Ghosh through video conferencing. During the hearing, ASG SV Raju said that someone was doing mischief, his mike was going off again and again. Justice Ghosh also expressed displeasure over this.

ASG SV Raju said, ‘Someone is doing mischief. I have appeared on behalf of the Central Investigation Agency. I am Additional Solicitor General. I have not completed my arguments. There is something wrong, my mic gets muted again and again. Justice Surva Ghosh expressed displeasure at this and said, ‘Let me hear him.’

On January 8, ED had raided the house of political consultancy firm I-PAC and Prateek Jain and suddenly West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached there along with senior officers. Today the High Court was hearing the petition of Trinamool Congress, in which it has demanded protection of its political data. However, ED says that it has not seized any documents in the raid, on the contrary, Mamata Banerjee left from there with the files.

The High Court rejected the petition of TMC and said that the Enforcement Directorate has stated on the basis of its Panchnama that the investigating agency has not seized any document during the raid, in such a situation the petition filed by the Trinamool Congress has no meaning, because the apprehension was expressed by the Trinamool Congress that the data collected by the Enforcement Directorate can be used politically.

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