I-PAC raid row: Supreme Court slams Mamata Banerjee, says CM cannot interfere in ED probe and put democracy at risk

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 22nd April, strongly criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her role in interfering with search operations carried out earlier this year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at a political consultancy firm in Kolkata.

A bench of Justices P K Mishra and N V Anjaria said that such actions by a Chief Minister could harm democratic functioning. The court made it clear that this was not simply a Centre vs State issue, but an act by an individual holding a constitutional post.

“This is not a dispute between the State and the Union. A Chief Minister of any State cannot walk in the midst of an investigation, put the democracy in peril…,” the bench observed, adding that such conduct puts “the whole democracy in jeopardy.”

The judges also remarked that even leading constitutional thinkers like B R Ambedkar and H M Seervai would not have imagined such a situation.

“You have taken us through Seervai, Ambedkar, but none of them would have conceived this situation… that one day a sitting Chief Minister will walk into the office…” the bench said during the hearing.

Debate over maintainability

The court was hearing petitions filed by the ED under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged interference. Senior advocate Meneka Guruswamy, appearing for a West Bengal police officer, argued that the plea itself was not maintainable.

“I am on maintainability… there was no criminal conduct, there was no intimidation,” she said, adding that the matter did not warrant such serious intervention.

However, the court did not agree. It said not every legal question needs to be sent to a larger bench. “In every question, there will be some question of law. That doesn’t mean every 32 petition is referred to a 5-judge bench,” the judges observed.

Court flags ‘extraordinary situation’

The bench also pointed to ground realities in West Bengal, saying the situation was not ordinary. It referred to latest incidents where judicial officers were obstructed and said courts cannot ignore such developments.

“We cannot shut our eyes to the reality… This is not a litigation between Ram and Shyam. This is an extraordinary situation where the contours are totally different,” the court said.

The remarks came in response to arguments by senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, who suggested that the ED could have approached a magistrate instead.

Background of the case

On 8th January, 2026, the ED conducted a search operation at the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain. The raids were part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation linked to a 2020 coal smuggling scam involving businessman Anup Majee. 

During the raids, Mamata Banerjee, along with TMC leaders and state police, obstructed the operation by entering the premises, confronting officials, and removing documents and electronic devices, including a laptop and an iPhone. The CM claimed that she removed party-related data to prevent it from going to the BJP.