On Monday, 20th July, the Calcutta High Court refused to grant interim relief to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in its challenge against the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) decision to freeze three of the party’s bank accounts containing around ₹440 crore.
Justice Krishna Rao declined to lift the freeze while the party’s petition remains pending before the court. This means the accounts will continue to remain inaccessible until further orders.
The TMC had approached the High Court after the ED froze the accounts as part of its money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The party argued that the agency’s action was unfair and sought permission to operate the accounts during the hearing of the case.
Calcutta HC refuses TMC's Mamata faction interim nod to operate 3 bank accounts frozen by ED#CalcuttaHighCourt #MamataBanerjee #TMChttps://t.co/EEXfF5k5s2
— Amar Ujala English (@AU_EnglishNews) July 20, 2026
“The request for interim permission to operate the accounts has not been accepted at this stage,” the court said while passing its interim order.
ED says funds were linked to the aircraft purchase probe
According to the Enforcement Directorate, its investigation found that nearly ₹160 crore was transferred from TMC’s bank accounts to Carewell Aviation India Pvt. Ltd. and one of its associated entities between April 2023 and June 2026.
The agency said that the company later transferred ₹82.96 crore to another newly formed entity. Officials claim that around ₹112 crore from these transactions was eventually used to purchase an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and an AgustaWestland 109SP helicopter.
“The freeze is part of an independent money laundering investigation into suspected financial transactions and is unrelated to any earlier proceedings,” the ED argued before the court.
Background of the case
The latest case comes after another Bench of the Calcutta High Court had earlier allowed the TMC to operate the same bank accounts under the supervision of a Special Officer. Those accounts had initially been frozen at the direction of the West Bengal Police following a complaint by rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das, who had said misuse of party funds.
Appearing for the TMC, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the ED‘s decision was intended to override that earlier court order. He contended that the agency knew the accounts were likely to be defrozen in the previous case but imposed a fresh freeze through its money laundering investigation.
The ED rejected this claim, maintaining that its action arose from a separate PMLA probe. After hearing both sides, Justice Krishna Rao refused to grant interim relief, allowing the ED’s freeze on the accounts to remain in force while the case continues.
