SC Refuses to Unfreeze TMC Accounts! Calcutta HC to Expedite Hearing
SC Refuses to Unfreeze TMC Accounts! Calcutta HC to Expedite Hearing
Supreme Court declines TMC's plea to operate debit-frozen bank accounts holding ₹800 crore, directing Calcutta High Court to fast-track hearings. What's next for the Mamata-led faction?
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined a petition from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) faction seeking to operate four bank accounts in public sector banks. These accounts were debit-frozen by the West Bengal Police, sparking a significant legal and political tussle. Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice M.M.
Sundresh, the petitioner faction argued that the First Information Reports (FIRs) leading to the accounts' freeze suffered from glaring procedural infirmities. However, the apex court refused to entertain the petition under its appellate jurisdiction.
Instead, it requested the Calcutta High Court to expedite the hearing of petitions filed by Ms.
Banerjee's faction, which challenge the original FIRs. This decision comes after the Calcutta High Court had previously declined to provide any interim relief on August 27 regarding these frozen bank accounts, which reportedly hold over ₹800 crore. The High Court had reasoned that granting interim relief would undermine an earlier directive limiting the party's access to its accounts strictly for daily or monthly expenses.
The Supreme Court noted that the Election Commission has also frozen the party's symbol, indicating a broader dispute over the entitlement to these funds that remains pending adjudication. This adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battle. Earlier in August, the top court had also declined to intervene in favour of the political party concerning three other bank accounts.
These accounts were frozen by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The Supreme Court had chosen not to interfere then, learning that the High Court had already appointed Justice Subrata Talukdar, a former Calcutta High Court judge, as a 'Special Officer'.
His role was to facilitate the operation of those three bank accounts specifically for day-to-day and monthly expenditures necessary to run the political party. The money laundering probe by the ED centers on alleged transfers of funds to Carewell Aviation India and an associated entity between April 2023 and June 2026.
These transfers were purportedly linked to the acquisition of an aircraft and a helicopter, raising questions about the source and use of the funds.
