The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 29) reserved its order on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking a CBI investigation against former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior police officers over the alleged obstruction of an ED search at the office of political consultancy I-PAC in Kolkata earlier this year.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria narrowed the dispute to a single question: should the court itself send the matter to the CBI, or should it leave that decision to West Bengal's newly elected government?
Background: the January raid
On January 8, the ED searched I-PAC's Kolkata office and the residence of its senior executive Pratik Jain as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged coal smuggling scam. I-PAC is the political consultancy that has worked closely with the Trinamool Congress on election strategy.
The agency alleges that Mamata Banerjee, then the sitting Chief Minister, arrived at the premises during the search along with police personnel and senior officials and interfered with the investigation. It wants FIRs registered against her, then West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, then Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and others, and the probe handed to the CBI.
Banerjee has denied the allegations. Her stand is that she went to the office to retrieve confidential Trinamool Congress data related to the party's election strategy.
On January 15, the Supreme Court issued notice on the ED's petitions, stayed the FIRs that West Bengal Police had registered against ED officers over the searches, and ordered that CCTV footage and digital records from the premises be preserved. At an earlier hearing, the court had orally observed that alleged interference by a sitting Chief Minister in an ongoing probe could put democracy "in peril".
| Case | Directorate of Enforcement v. State of West Bengal |
| Bench | Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria |
| Hearing | October 29, 2026 - order reserved |
| ED search | January 8, I-PAC office in Kolkata and residence of Pratik Jain |
| Linked probe | Money laundering case tied to alleged coal smuggling |
| Question before court | Court-ordered CBI probe, or leave it to new state government |
What happened in court on Thursday
The political ground has shifted since the ED first approached the court: Banerjee is no longer Chief Minister, and a new government is in office in West Bengal. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, leaned on exactly this point. He argued that the earlier reason for the ED to come directly to the Supreme Court under Article 32 - that a sitting Chief Minister was involved - no longer applies, and that nothing now stops the state government from referring the case to the CBI on its own.
The bench appeared to see some force in that, asking why the new state government could not take the call given the changed circumstances, and observing that the situation that existed when the ED filed its plea may no longer hold.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed leaving the matter to the state. He argued that a decision by the new government could invite allegations of mala fide or political motives, that the case involves a former Chief Minister and senior police officers and therefore needs an independent agency, and that since there are cross-cases, a single agency should examine both sides. Leaving it to the state, he said, could only fuel further controversy.
Why the case matters
The dispute has become one of the sharpest flashpoints between central agencies and a state government in recent years. Earlier in the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the court that the "rule of law ceases to operate when executive uses state machinery to obstruct investigation". The court, too, had said it never expected a sitting Chief Minister to walk into premises being searched by an investigating agency.
Whatever the bench decides will set a marker on how far courts should step in when the political situation in a state changes midway through a case - and on whether central agencies can directly seek court-monitored transfers in disputes with state governments.
What happens next
The Supreme Court has not indicated when it will pronounce its order. If it directs a CBI probe, Banerjee and the former top police officers could face a central investigation. If it leaves the matter to West Bengal's new government, the political spotlight will shift to Kolkata and to what the state chooses to do.
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