ED Approaches SC In Showdown With Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal government officials with support of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stopped Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials from carrying out searches and seizing material linked to the ED’s investigation into an alleged coal smuggling scam, the central agency said in a petition to the Supreme Court today.

The ED reached the Supreme Court a day after the Calcutta High Court adjourned the hearing of its petition alleging interference by Banerjee during searches at the house of political consultancy firm I-PAC director Pratik Jain.

I-PAC has been working on the election strategy for Banerjee’s ruling Trinamool Congress, ahead of the election to be held by April.

Physical documents and electronic devices were forcibly removed from the premises in the presence of senior state officials, the ED said in its petition. The probe agency narrated the sequence of events and called the entire matter a “showdown” due to the Bengal government’s actions. (updated on 10th January 2026)