On this Special Report, India Today correspondent Srishti Oja provides an update on the escalating legal battle between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the TMC government, seeking a response within two weeks regarding the ED's plea to transfer the ongoing investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Srishti Oja noted that the court raised a 'very serious question' about whether political activities or state enforcement agencies can be used to obstruct central agencies conducting bona fide investigations. The ED has accused the state government of a pattern of resistance and interference, citing a specific incident involving a WhatsApp message from the TMC legal cell to assemble at the Calcutta High Court. While the TMC argued that central interference in non-BJP states during elections is problematic, the top court has stayed three FIRs filed by West Bengal police until February 3rd, 2026.
00:00The face-off between the ED and Magda government escalated sharply in Supreme Court today
00:04with the latest episode playing out before the top court as both sides sort of locked
00:08horns.
00:08And now, Supreme Court has come out with its order, issuing a notice to the TMC government
00:13asking them to respond within two weeks on the ED's plea to hand over probe to the CBI.
00:20Now, what does this basically mean?
00:22All the three FIRs of the West Bengal cops shall be stayed till the 3rd of February.
00:28That's when the Supreme Court will pick up the matter next.
00:31But it was a heated exchange between the two sides.
00:33ED accused Mamta of committing an offence, amounting to theft, questioning what she was hiding,
00:40that she had to barge into the ongoing raid that happened at the IPAC office.
00:44And the ruckus at the High Court as well hearing of the case was planned by TMC's legal cell,
00:50they said.
00:51Didi's lawyers, on the other hand, hiked back, saying that she was at the High Court for only
00:5615 minutes and rejected claims of any ruckus.
01:00They also accused the ED, in fact, in return, of acting with malified intent and said that
01:05the agency knew that IPAC housed all the election data, all the election material and all the
01:13blueprint of how TMC was going to fight this election, which was the real target of the ED.
01:20Now, India today, meanwhile, accessed the chat cited by EC, where TMC's legal team circulated
01:27a message for assembling at the Calcutta High Court.
01:30And remember, on 9th of Jan is when the matter will be heard next.
01:34Whenever in a non-BJP state, central agency will interfere with the political party just
01:49before election, that is also not good.
01:54Correct?
01:54Similarly, if the central agency works and the state agency interferes, that is also
02:00not good.
02:02So maintaining this cooperative federalism is not the duty only of the state, it is also
02:08duty of the central government.
02:11Right?
02:12There were two parties there.
02:14You have to accept the two parties.
02:15They have said court scam case, correct.
02:17We don't have anything to say.
02:18They have given the list of dates.
02:24Last evidence which has been taken by the in the statement is 21st February 2024.
02:33Thereafter, he was slipping altogether.
02:36Now, when the election is forthcoming, then he was jumping upon.
02:39ED is jumping upon.
02:40That is also the question.
02:41That is the question.
03:11All right, joining me next is Srishti Oja, my colleague who was inside the court when the entire proceeding took place.
03:19Srishti, we've got those graphics running on the screen for our viewers on what court said to both the sides.
03:25But the funny part about this proceeding, at least today's, has been that both parties have come out to say that, see, the Supreme Court sided with us.
03:33You know, TMC is saying, see, they've said this. BJP is saying, see, they spoke in our favor.
03:37You were inside the court. What exactly was the sentiment?
03:41Well, Sonal, I don't think any part of today's hearing went in favor of the TMC.
03:50Yes, it's true that the Supreme Court in its order did acknowledge the fact that no central agency can, has the right to interfere in anyone's election-related duties.
03:59But what followed that statement becomes very crucial because the court says one very serious question that comes up in this particular case, in a situation like this is,
04:08if a central agency wants to investigate a serious offense in any state in a bona fide manner, can you take the shield of political party or political party activities or even the shield of state enforcement agencies like the state police to obstruct them from doing so?
04:24If we see the entire order, the main operator portion of the order, it is in line with most of the arguments which were made by the enforcement directorate before the court today.
04:34They defended their decision to come to Supreme Court, even though their case was already pending before the Calcutta High Court.
04:40And for that, they referred to this particular WhatsApp chat that we had run for our viewers on our screen earlier today that we had accessed to make a point that it was the TMC supporters,
04:51in fact, the TMC legal cell which had tried to hijack the Calcutta High Court proceedings by sending across messages on WhatsApp and asking people to gather,
05:00which resulted in overcrowd, which resulted in overcrowding in the High Court courtroom and therefore the proceedings were adjourned.
05:06So, the Supreme Court today even agreed with the ED on that aspect and said that if this is what happens in one High Court,
05:12today it is happening before Calcutta High Court, tomorrow if nothing is done, it can happen in any other High Court as well.
05:18As far as ED's allegations about a pattern in West Bengal, ED said that there has been a pattern in cases like this,
05:25especially in the state of West Bengal, where any time the central agency wants to investigate a case, be it ED or CBI,
05:33they want to investigate a serious offence, any scam, there is a certain resistance that comes from the side of these state authorities,
05:41the West Bengal CM, the West Bengal Police, every time where dharnas are held and basically an attempt is made to obstruct the investigation process.
05:50The top court today has in a way also agreed with that because they have very clearly said that the issue that they want to now examine,
05:55further in this case is very serious. The issue according to them which is serious is investigation by central agencies and interference by state agencies.
06:04So, basically if we try to sum the hearing up, the effect of the final order in this case in the hearing won't just have an effect on the political face-off in West Bengal,
06:15but also in other states, especially where the ruling party in the state is not the same as that in the centre.
06:22Got it, Shishti. Thanks so much for bringing us up to speed with that.
06:25It was a fiery day in court, we see, but one that is not getting over.
06:29We'll keep a track on that story and that case as it develops.
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