The Enforcement Directorate has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged obstruction of its last week’s search operations on I-PAC in Kolkata by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others, saying it is “not a solitary incident where such illegal actions and offences have been committed by her and her officers against officers of investigating agencies carrying out their duties under respective statutes”.
In its plea, the central agency refers to “a shocking state-of-affairs in West Bengal” where “the protectors of law i.e. the Chief Minister of State of West Bengal, including senior most police officials i.e. Director General of Police, West Bengal and Police Commissioner, Kolkata, are party to serious cognizable offences requiring registration of an FIR as mandated” by the SC in the 2014 decision in the Lalita Kumari vs Government of Uttar Pradesh case.
Banerjee, ED said, “has made a pattern to take law into her hands and misuse the State police whenever any crime is investigated, which is not to her liking or which has the potential of some incriminating material against her, her ministers, her party workers or a few officials working in cahoots is likely to be found.”
I-PAC raids
Recounting what happened during the raid on I-PAC, the agency said it is “investigating a multi-State money laundering offence under which the proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 2742.32 crore are derived from the illegal coal mining which was generated and laundered at the cost of the public exchequer.”
ED officers searched the residential premises of I-PAC founder Pratik Jain “in view of material available showing the receipt of proceeds of crime of more than Rs. 20 crore.”
“However, to the utter shock and surprise of the officers and everyone concerned, the Hon’ble Chief Minister, along with the Chief Secretary, State of West Bengal, Director General of Police – West Bengal, Commissioner of Police, Calcutta, Deputy Commissioner of Police and other police officers/officials barged into the premises under the search”.
“They not only started intimidating and threatening the officers but also snatched the files and electronic evidence containing incriminating material from them”. The plea said, “what was snatched” was material “earlier taken into possession by the officers…. during their official duty as a part of the collection of evidence under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.”
It added that ED officers were “threatened and were not permitted to conduct any further search in the premises.”
‘Constitution and rule of law humiliated’
The ED said the evidence collected by it “had nothing to do with any activity of any political party and was purely confined to the offence under investigation”. “When the evidence gathered by the investigating agency was snatched by none other than the Chief Minister, DG of Police and the Police Commissioner and this fact was made a spectacle before the media, it was the Constitution and the rule of law which was humiliated, causing irreparable damage to the principles of constitutionalism which this Hon’ble Court has very zealously protected.”
The agency said that since the CM who is also the Home Minister, DGP, West Bengal, the Kolkata police commissioner, deputy commissioner of police and other police officers “are themselves involved in the serious offences, approaching the local police for registration of FIR would not only be a futile exercise but would also prompt the local police not to do proper investigation and conduct a shoddy investigation to protect the Chief Minister and the senior police officials.”
Referring to what transpired before the Calcutta High Court, the ED said, “such is the clout enjoyed and illegal tactics employed by the” CM “and her party members is that they are hell bent on seeing that proceedings before the High Court do not take place by creating a ruckus and commotion in the court which prompted the Hon’ble High Court to refrain from hearing the matter and adjourn the same by a judicial order recoding that the environment is not conducive for hearing.
“The fact that the supporters of the Chief Minister are involved in creating a ruckus is evidenced by the WhatsApp message in the WhatsApp group by party members to come and gather in huge numbers in the court.”
‘FIRs have manifold ulterior motives’
The agency said the actions of Mamata Banerjee and others amount to various cognizable offences, including theft in a dwelling house, punishable under sections 305, 307, 309, 310, 331, 332, and others of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Referring to some of the earlier incidents in which the state machinery was allegedly misused against investigating agencies, the ED said, “There is yet another pattern where after committing an offence, the Chief Minister and at her behest the police officials register multiple FIRs against the Central agencies and their officers.”
“Such FIRs have manifold ulterior motives. The first is to intimidate the officers to deter them from conducting any investigation in present or in future.”
The probe agency said in the I-PAC case, “under the guise of a FIR registered, the West Bengal police took away the CCTV camera which has captured the unlawful activities of the…Chief Minister. This is also an offence of destroying the evidence under the garb of investigation… “A false narrative is being built on social media, attributing ill motives to the ED officials, which is false.”
The agency said, “Considering the pattern which is emerging and the consistent defiance of law exhibited by the Hon’ble Chief Minister, her Cabinet Ministers and the police force working under her, this would be one of the rare cases where it would be the constitutionally imperative for the highest court of the nation to intervene and ensure restoration of lawful authority of lawful agencies and set an example so that no political leader belonging to any political party would attempt to take law in her and/or her own hands and commit offence in public glare and make spectacle out of having committed criminal offence and not only interfered with the lawful process but committed theft of the material taken in possession by the lawful authorities in exercise of lawful powers.”
The ED said the evidence collected by it “had nothing to do with any activity of any political party and was purely confined to the offence under investigation”. 
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