- 15 minutes ago
In this special report, India Today's Srishti Ojha details the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) latest submissions before the Supreme Court.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So we have some breaking news coming in right now. India Today has accessed the chat, which was cited by the Enforcement Directorate before the Supreme Court during the hearing today.
00:12Now, this is the chat that we are showing you right now, where the TMC legal team circulated a message for Assembling Act Calcutta High Court when the matter was being heard.
00:23Remember, this was raised by the ASG saying that because of that, the parties, the advocates could not reach for the hearing.
00:32It was a ruckus situation there and even the court noted that there was ruckus in High Court in the first hearing.
00:42Now, joining us right now in this entire matter is India Today's Srishti Oja.
00:46Srishti, this chat that we are seeing on our screens right now, can you tell us a little bit more about it?
00:53Avala Sanjali, this is a chat which India Today has exclusively accessed. It firms part of ED's submissions before the Supreme Court.
01:04It was this particular chat that the Solicitor General and the additional Solicitor General appearing for ED today relied on before the Supreme Court to make a very, very clear argument.
01:13According to them, the manner in which the proceedings before the High Court were conducted is not something that is very, you know, trustworthy.
01:22Because of the way the chaos erupted, which eventually led to the matter being adjourned.
01:28They said that when, remember on the first day when the court was scheduled to hear this matter, there was quite a chaos in the court.
01:35There was overcrowding because of which the court was forced to adjourn the case, which the ED and what ED and TMC had claimed was extremely urgent.
01:42But the court had to adjourn that matter. Now, before the Supreme Court ED has claimed, even in its petition, they had very clearly said that it was not a spontaneous overcrowding situation.
01:53It wasn't organic. It was in fact a planned effort. TMC supporters, TMC legal team had in fact put in an effort and organized this chaos and crowding situation by sending messages on WhatsApp.
02:06So messages on WhatsApp were circulated. The screenshot that we have on our screen is screenshot of the, that the legal cell apparently according to the TM, according to the ED, had circulated asking people to gather, informing people about the time and the court number where the matter would be heard.
02:23And then asking them to gather and show support in the protest. So ED's claim is very simple as the Supreme Court also agreed with in a way, is that the hearing of this matter should happen before Supreme Court because a situation like this, which happened a few days back where TMC supporters hijacked the court proceedings, hijacked was the word used by ED, hijacked the court proceedings, can happen again.
02:48Who is to say that in the future, if the high court hears this matter, the same thing would not happen again. And in that situation, the agency would be left in a situation which would be very helpless.
02:59The court in a way, the top court today has agreed because, has agreed with this particular contention. We saw Supreme Court, the judges even remarked that if this is the situation that happened during that hearing, something like this can happen in this high court, something like this can happen again, maybe in a different high court, in a different state.
03:17And therefore, it's important for the top court itself to examine the issue involved. It's an extremely serious matter is what the top court has said today.
03:25And they will be hearing this case, not just this entire IPAC issue, the ED versus TM controversy.
03:30But I think this, at the end of this case, we will also have answer to very important legal and constitutional questions because, with regard to the power of central investigating agencies when they are investigating cases or scams in states which are being governed by a different ruling party.
03:48Right.
03:48Which is also something which is essentially what the top court has also said, that it is an important question and therefore they need to answer it.
03:55Right, Srishti, do stay on with us as we quickly try and show our viewers the chat that we've been talking about and the chat that Srishti was trying to explain to you.
04:05Well, we've got this on the screen for you now. It is a Bangla message that was sent on a group which basically is a TMC legal cell.
04:15Now, try and understand why this is important. It is a message that mentions which court, which day, what time.
04:24So, this is a notice that is forwarded by Rama Haldar and it says, today, this is the date, court number 5 and item number 10.
04:34So, it mentions clearly that we will quickly now try and explain to you what exactly this notice means.
04:43So, Srishti, we saw the chat which clearly shows that there were messages that were sent to people.
04:51It was sort of a call to arms to the brethren saying that, come over here, this is the court number, this is the item number and you should all be present to support the Honourable Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
05:04This is the message that was sent.
05:06So, usually we see when an important matter comes up in court, the lawyers do make a beeline for that courtroom and try and absorb as much as they can from the hearing because there are, you know, legal luminaries who are standing in front of the court and it is an opportunity for them to see this.
05:24But this chat is a little bit more than that, isn't it?
05:28Well, yes, definitely, firstly, the chat that we are looking at right now isn't exactly for a legal, not exactly a case where we're seeing lawyers coming together to attend a hearing because of the legal implications that that matter may have or because of the important constitutional questions.
05:50The hearing that was to be held at Calcutta High Court that day when this matter was circulated, 9th Jan to be specific, was a first hearing that had to take place.
06:01TMC and ED had both moved the Calcutta High Court and it was a very first hearing that was to happen before the Calcutta High Court.
06:09The nature of this chat is very clear if we look at it.
06:13The idea was to support Mamata Banerji, the idea was to support TMC and that's exactly what the Enforcement Directorate has also told the Supreme Court today that the idea why the TMC supporters did this, circulated this message was to hijack the proceedings, to ensure that the proceedings never happen in the first place.
06:35Even in the message, even in the message, we see very clearly, the date is written, the court number is written and the people have been asked to come to court physically.
06:42There's also a virtual hearing option that we now have as far as, you know, court hearings are concerned.
06:50Now, this particular situation had then forced the Calcutta High Court to issue an advisory ahead of the second hearing where the court clearly stated that nobody would be allowed to enter in this specific hearing.
07:03When the hearing in the IPAC case would be going on, as per that advisory, only the lawyers who are representing either parties would be allowed to enter the courtroom and everybody else would be able to access it through live streaming.
07:18The High Court also made sure that the live streaming of that particular case was on and which is also how we managed to access that case.
07:24But even yesterday, Anjali, we saw the ED council complaint, I mean, again, that he wasn't being able, he wasn't being allowed to argue.
07:32Yeah, his mic was being muted again and again.
07:35That is what he kept complaining about.
07:37He did raise the issue today in the Supreme Court as well.
07:40Nalini Sharma also joins us.
07:41But right now, since Indrajeet is with us and this entire issue is of the Kolkata High Court that we are talking about right now, Indrajeet, you know, any reporter who's covered court would know that lawyers do have affiliations.
07:58In fact, very strong affiliations and they're not afraid of showing it.
08:01So, do try and explain to us how it really happens that a message is sent out and a courtroom is packed to the brim because it is a call that was sent out.
08:15Well, look, you know, that's true.
08:17Every High Court, every court will have, you know, the Bar Association members and their own political lineages.
08:24So, that's a given.
08:24Again, this message that the Enforcement Directorate has used before the Supreme Court is, you know, is going to be a very, very crucial point in their entire argument because there are two parts to the message.
08:40One, of course, in which one Rama Haldar, she says in the group that everybody must come to court number five.
08:49The item number is 10.
08:51It writes in Bangla.
08:53So, she's calling everybody to come to the courtroom.
08:59Now, whether that can prove that she's asking, calling everybody to come and protest there, that's not very clear.
09:05And we've seen now and again, whenever there is a high profile case, a large number of journalists who are covering that matter, they also gather in the court.
09:15We've seen that, you know, often the courts are jam-packed and it's even difficult to hear and it's difficult for, you know, the both sides to make the argument.
09:26These are normal instances that happen, but what had happened on that very day is that there was chaos that was, that broke out completely.
09:36The judge just could not conduct the hearing.
09:40And also important to notice in this is the fact that there was mobilization.
09:46It is mentioned that there will be a bus for transportation.
09:49So, it is a clear sign towards a mobilization of people.
09:53You know, it's not just that, oh.
09:54Anjali, that's what I'm coming to.
09:56There are two messages.
09:57There are two messages.
09:58The first message is in which Ramahalda says, everybody please come to court number 5.
10:03It's item number 10.
10:04That may sound innocuous, but when read with the second message, the second part, if you see, that's a given.
10:10Because on that very day, this is 9th of January, the day first Calcutta High Court was supposed to hear this matter, on that very day,
10:20Mamata Banerjee had also called for a rally in South Calcutta.
10:23And the petition was being heard around the same time when Mamata Banerjee's rally was scheduled.
10:30And I was there at the rally.
10:32I was covering that rally.
10:33And there was eager anticipation amongst Ramahal Congress workers and supporters as to what is happening at the court,
10:40whether or not there was any order that was being passed.
10:42And I clearly remember I was there and we heard that the matter could not be heard at the court because of a ruckus and chaos.
10:48And if you see message number two, it clearly says that there is a gathering at 1 p.m. at B gate of the Calcutta High Court.
10:56And they are asking everybody to come and join the procession, the padiyatra of the chief minister.
11:03And they are saying that all the lawyers affiliated to the TMC, legal cell, TMC,
11:10they should all gather at gate B of the Calcutta High Court.
11:14And there would be buses, vehicles ferrying them to Mamata Banerjee's rally.
11:17So that's a given.
11:18So the first message may look innocuous, you know, somebody asking other lawyers to come and listen to the hearing.
11:24But then the second message puts things in context that, you know, they might be coming for some other reason.
11:30And therefore, this is exactly what the ED petition and the ED's argument is that it was an orchestrated kiosk so that the hearing cannot take place.
11:41And there is a delay. And that seems to have, you know, that may haunt the Trinamul Congress now that it has been put before the Supreme Court.
11:49And the Supreme Court has taken up the matter and has heard this entire proceeding.
11:54Because as, you know, our correspondents have been telling us, the kind of arguments that were coming in from the TMC, from Mamata Banerjee's council,
12:02was that they would rather prefer the arguments or the case be heard in the Calcutta High Court before the Supreme Court.
12:10But that did not stand. The Supreme Court has heard the case and it's likely to hear it sometime two weeks later once again.
12:18So in that sense, this is a massive setback for the ruling establishment and the ruling party here in Westbrook.
12:24Absolutely, because the ED has managed to create the impression that the hearing will not be able to proceed properly in the High Court.
12:32But Nalini, that is not the only thing that the ED managed to point out as far as the proceedings in Calcutta High Court is concerned.
12:41Not just the WhatsApp message, but also the fact that when the hearing was happening yesterday, the mic was getting muted again and again.
12:49Although, they refused to get into it in depth because the court did ask because this is the court's domain.
12:57And that's where the ED backed off. But this was also brought into the notice of the court.
13:05So there was a clear indication to what they were trying to prove.
13:12You're right, Anjali. It's not just about the first hearing that had happened,
13:15but also the second hearing when the lawyer for the agency was appearing virtually and he kept alleging that his mic was being muted.
13:27But Calcutta High Court, if I could just focus a little bit on that, Anjali,
13:30in my experience of covering the Calcutta High Court and covering other high courts across the country,
13:35what I've seen is Calcutta High Court is slightly more unique when it comes to, in comparison to the other high courts,
13:41that's due to multiple factors. One major factor being that a lot of lawyers who are practicing in the Calcutta High Court
13:49are either members of the TMC or affiliated with the TMC.
13:54So the TMC has a very strong legal presence in the Calcutta High Court.
13:59Also, that the judges of the Calcutta High Court function slightly differently.
14:04Just if you remember, not too far back into the past,
14:07we remember that one of the judges of the Calcutta High Court after retirement had in fact even joined a political party.
14:14So it is slightly more political as compared to the other high courts across the country,
14:19which is probably why, and I'm not just talking about this case,
14:22even in cases in the past, we have seen there is certain apprehension of the central government
14:27of arguing cases before the Calcutta High Court.
14:31There were the violence cases that were going on before the Calcutta High Court
14:35that were also brought to the Supreme Court by the central government.
14:39So all of the important, pressing, urgent issues are often brought to the Supreme Court
14:44by the central government or agencies working for the central government.
14:49Remember, Anjali, in this case, this is something that the council for the TMC
14:53had even told the Calcutta High Court during the hearing yesterday.
14:57The TMC has not approached the Supreme Court.
14:59The TMC, despite knowing EDA's approach to the Supreme Court,
15:02did not even file a caveat saying that you should give us an opportunity to be heard
15:06before passing an order, which means that the TMC was insistent on the fact
15:11that the hearing should happen before the Calcutta High Court
15:14because, like I stated earlier, they seem to feel that they have a stronger legal foothold
15:18in the Calcutta High Court, which is their home ground,
15:21as in comparison to Delhi or the Supreme Court of India.
15:26But the Supreme Court, on the other hand, has actually recognized
15:28that this is not just an issue about what happened on the 8th of Jan
15:32between Mamata Banerjee and the Enforcement Directorate.
15:35There are larger questions involved in this case.
15:38There is lawlessness that happens in several states
15:40because of tension between the central agencies and the state authorities,
15:45which is something that the Supreme Court can only step in
15:47and ensure that it doesn't happen as the only singular court
15:52that has jurisdiction throughout India.
15:54So, it remains to be seen what the West Bengal government will now reply.
15:58They will obviously oppose the plea for a CBI probe
16:00because if they are not allowing the Enforcement Directorate to probe
16:04in the state of West Bengal, chances are that they will not allow the CBI to probe
16:08in the state of West Bengal as well, as we have seen in the past.
16:11They are likely to oppose the plea, but on what grounds they will oppose the plea,
16:15what is it that they will state on record about the events of the 8th of Jan
16:18and how soon can we expect for a proper order to be issued in this case
16:23as to whether or not there will be any guidelines issued
16:26about how central and state agencies should function in coordination with each other
16:31as against in friction with each other.
16:33All remains to be seen now on the 3rd of Feb
16:35when the Supreme Court takes up the matter again
16:37and by then we will also officially expect to have a response
16:40by the West Bengal government on how they are opposing EDI's petition.
16:43Indurjit, what are your sources in the police or the government telling you
16:48about the case that they have filed which have been stayed
16:52and the response that they might have to now file in front of the court?
16:57Do you have any information coming and trickling down from there?
17:03Well, Anjali, these are very early times.
17:05You know, the Supreme Court has just dictated its order
17:08and I know for sure that the high echelons of the West Bengal government
17:13and the Trinamol Congress in particular as well,
17:16they were very keenly observing the entire happenings at the Supreme Court.
17:21In fact, Chief Minister Mamata Manojir herself has been, you know,
17:23very keenly observing the entire proceedings at the Supreme Court.
17:27So, they will come up with their next move, I'm sure, very soon
17:32and they will have to, as they will have to, you know,
17:35give their response to the Supreme Court in the form of an avidavid.
17:38But, while it may seem as if legally it's a setback for the Trinamol Congress,
17:45given that the FIR that had been filed by the Kolkata police,
17:48that had been stayed, the fact that they almost wanted, you know,
17:52it seemed as if they wanted or they would have rather preferred this hearing
17:55to take place in the Calcutta High Court, that has been turned down.
17:58The Supreme Court is hearing the matter.
18:00But, there could also be a silver lining for the Trinamol Congress politically
18:05because now that there is a stay on the FIR
18:09and also the fact that this matter is now sub-duties before the Apex Court,
18:14it seems unlikely that there is going to be any further action
18:20by the central agencies till February 3rd.
18:23So, till February 3rd, one, you know, it may so happen
18:27that the agencies may just go slow as far as this entire case
18:31and the investigation is concerned.
18:32So, that will have some sort of a political ramification on the ground
18:36because we are literally counting weeks before the West Bengal election.
18:41February 14th is when the SIR process comes to an end in West Bengal
18:45and the final list is going to be announced
18:47and following which any day, any day, mind you, Anjali,
18:51the election dates may be announced in West Bengal.
18:53So, in that sense, till February 3rd, this might also mean
18:57that it's a relief for the Trinamol Congress
18:59or the West Bengal government or Mamata Banerjee
19:01because the central agencies, specifically the ED,
19:05as far as this case is concerned, may just go slow.
19:07The ED's apprehension was that there might be some coercive action
19:10by the state agencies, the Kolkata police,
19:13against their officers who had come here for that probe.
19:16So, that, they have got that, you know, somehow...
19:18Right.
19:18Right.
Be the first to comment