On Wednesday, April 22, the Supreme Court of India slammed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her interruption of an ED raid at I-PAC’s co-founder Pratik Jain’s home in January, Bar & Bench reported.
The apex Court was hearing petitions moved by the ED and its officers under Article 32 for a CBI probe against Banerjee and others after they interfered with the ED raid against I-PAC.
The bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria noted, “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, and then say…don’t convert this into a dispute between the State and the Union. This is per se an act committed by an individual who happens to be the Chief Minister keeping the whole democracy in jeopardy.”
During the hearing, the bench also said that they are aware of the ground realities in Bengal. “Before the other bench where the FIR is under question, we have seen the situation that several judicial officers had been kept hostage. And you want the petitioner should have gone to a magistrate under Section 200? We cannot shut our eyes to the reality of what’s happening. We cannot lose sight of the practical situation which is present in the State. Don’t compel us to make observations,” the Court said.
The ED raid at Pratik Jain’s home was held in January over allegations of money laundering, and Mamata Banerjee stormed into Jain’s residence during the raid.
