The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) launched an all-out attack against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Supreme Court for her “gross and blatant abuse” of power by “illegally barging” into the site of ongoing raids at the offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC on January 8 with senior police officers in tow.
The ED has sought an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Ms. Banerjee and senior police officers for carrying away electronic devices and material considered as evidence in a ₹2,742-crore coal smuggling case and associated money-laundering charges.
The State of West Bengal, and Ms. Banerjee, argued that the raids were conducted without permission from the State Police, and were designed to take away confidential material concerning the ruling Trinamool Congress, which consults with I-PAC and its founder Pratik Jain, whose residences were searched by the Central agency.
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The ED, however, rejected the State’s counter that the CM and the police contingent had intervened to prevent “armed persons impersonating officials of Central agencies” from conducting an unauthorised search. ED officials had duly displayed their ID cards and search authorization to the police officers, the Central agency submitted in its rejoinder.
The ED said the police allowed the Chief Minister, in fact, escorted her into the premises where an active search was going on and forcibly retrieved incriminating material.
“Individuals took away documents collected and indexed by the ED officers. The back-up process for the computer and email dump was also stopped midway. Ms. Banerjee, assisted by the State police officers, forcibly took away the computer installed in the premises. The State police on the instructions of Ms. Banerjee forcibly took away the mobile phones of the employees of M/s Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd., present at the premises. They took the laptop of the ED officer and a mobile phone of the officer and returned it after two hours. The taking of the laptop and mobile phone and keeping in their possession for two hours amounts to theft,” the ED submitted.
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It said Ms. Banerjee entered the premises along with her Z-plus security personnel, individuals in plain clothes, and senior officers of the Kolkata Police, in “complete disregard of the lawful proceedings that were already underway”.
“The heavy presence of police personnel to the tune of hundreds itself demonstrates coercion by the State Police and interference with lawful search under the PMLA by the ED officers… The manner of entry constituted a clear show of force and numerical strength, during which documents and incriminating material were forcibly taken over and removed from the premises, despite repeated requests by ED officers to refrain from doing so… No investigation agency would ordinarily permit a third person to enter into premises of an ongoing search and take away materials,” the ED submitted.
The ED denied Ms. Banerjee’s argument that material seized by her only contained confidential and proprietary information of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
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“Once such material has been forcibly retrieved and taken away, it becomes difficult to identify what all was taken away and determine whether or not they were only confidential and proprietary information of the party or whether they also contained information relating to the offence which was being investigated into by the ED,” the rejoinder said.
The ED said it was “utterly shocking” that the Home Secretary gave the CM, who had barged into and stopped a legal raid, a “clean chit”.
“The bare perusal of the facts would reveal gross abuse of power by the State machinery of the State of West Bengal. Senior officials of the State Police have colluded and obstructed the discharge of functions by officials of the ED under the PMLA, in the private interests of Ms. Mamta Banerjee the Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal,” the ED underscored.
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Besides, the ED said there was “no information whatsoever in public domain that any office of AITC was located in the premises of Indian-PAC Consulting Private Limited. There was no visible sign board or any form of display in the name of AITC”.
It said material evidence had been gathered disclosing that proceeds of crime arising from illegal coal mining were used through inter-State hawala networks, layered through a chain of facilitators, converted into cash at Goa and channelled into IPAC’s operational framework by being handed over to persons executing its work.
“It was under these circumstances that the search was conducted,” the ED said.
Published – February 19, 2026 03:36 pm IST
