The Calcutta High Court on Friday witnessed unprecedented commotion in the courtroom, leading to the adjournment of a crucial hearing involving the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The matter, linked to obstruction by the CM and state police during ED raids at the premises of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), has been postponed to January 14 due to uncontrollable chaos in the courtroom.
Justice Suvra Ghosh, presiding over the single-judge bench, expressed strong displeasure over the “unmanageable crowd” and large-scale chaos in the courtroom. Despite repeated requests for unrelated persons and lawyers to vacate the premises, the appeals went unheeded, making it impossible to proceed with the hearing. As attempts to clear the court failed, designated advocates struggled to approach the bench amid the packed room. Frustrated, the judge eventually left the courtroom without commencing proceedings, adjourning the matter for 14th January.
Dissatisfied with the adjournment, the ED has approached the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, both verbally and through a written application, seeking an urgent hearing of their petition. The agency requested that the matter be assigned to a special bench or another judge to expedite proceedings if the current judge is unable to hear it.
The dramatic courtroom scenes come a day after high-voltage developments on January 8, when Banerjee made surprise visits to the raid sites, and then came out with files and devices, intensifying the political showdown between the ruling TMC and the Centre.
The ED’s 28-page petition accuses Mamata Banerjee and state police officials of colluding to obstruct its officials during searches conducted on January 8 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The raids targeted the I-PAC office in Salt Lake Sector V and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Loudon Street, in connection with an ongoing probe into illegal coal smuggling and money laundering.
During the raids, the Chief Minister personally entered Jain’s residence and, with the aid of police personnel, forcibly removed key evidence, including documents and electronic devices. She then went to I-PAC office which was also being raided, and took out files and electronic devices. The agency has sought directions for registration of an FIR against Banerjee and others, besides praying for a CBI probe into the alleged interference.
After taking out the files, CM Mamata Banerjee said that she took files related to TMC’s election strategy, including candidate lists. She accused BJP of using ED to steal her party’s data from the party’s consultant’s office. Mamata Banerjee claimed the agency attempted to confiscate TMC’s hard disks, candidate lists and campaign plans on behalf of Amit Shah.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) has also filed a counter-petition, alleging that the ED raids were politically motivated and aimed at seizing confidential party data, including election strategies ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. Justice Suvra Ghosh was scheduled to hear both the petitions together today.
While the case was adjourned in the court, CM Banerjee led a massive protest march in Kolkata today against the raids on Friday.
