Mamata used state machinery to obstruct probe in I-PAC case: EC

#New Delhi

Alleging complete breakdown of law and order in West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday told the Supreme Court that CM Mamata Banerjee used state machinery to obstruct its probe against I-PAC office in Kolkata related to a Rs 2,700-crore coal smuggling case.

A bench comprising justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria heard Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju on behalf of the ED and its official Robin Bansal and they sought a direction to the CBI to register an FIR and probe the case.

The ED alleges that the chief minister, accompanied by a large police contingent, personally intervened to halt the search and seize evidence collected by federal officers. The proceedings began with a sharp exchange between the Solicitor General and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy. Guruswamy accused the ED of using the courtroom as a “social media weapon in a political campaign,” labelling the SG’s arguments as the behaviour of an “unelected crown”.