The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking urgent restraint against what it called the “misuse and dissemination” of politically sensitive material allegedly seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during recent raids on the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief in Kolkata.
In a strongly worded petition, the ruling party in West Bengal accused the ED of acting with “arbitrary, mala fide, and colourable” intent under the guise of a money laundering investigation. The ED had conducted the searches on January 8 as part of its ongoing probe into the multi-crore coal smuggling case under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The petition, excerpts of which have been accessed, states that during the raids, the ED allegedly seized electronic devices and documents that contain “confidential political data/information/documents relating to campaign strategy, internal assessments, research inputs, organisational coordination, and electoral roll-related data” of the TMC.
This information, according to the party, was compiled for use in the upcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly Elections scheduled for 2026.
“The said materials have no proximate, causal, or even remote nexus with any scheduled offence or alleged proceeds of crime,” the TMC argued, insisting that the search and seizure far exceeded the permissible scope of investigation under the PMLA.
The party further contended that the ED’s actions were a deliberate effort to interfere with its right to a free and fair election campaign, amounting to “unlawfully accessing and controlling the petitioner’s electoral roll management, campaign planning, and political strategy.”
The petition asserts that such actions violate the party’s right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution and its right to participate meaningfully in the democratic process under Article 19.
“The petitioner apprehends grave prejudice, misuse, and dissemination of the seized data, which, if not restrained, would irreversibly damage the integrity of the electoral process and undermine constitutional democracy,” the TMC warned in its plea.
The TMC has urged the Calcutta High Court to issue directions preventing the ED from accessing, using, or sharing the seized data for any purpose unrelated to the specific probe under the PMLA. The party has sought immediate judicial intervention to prevent further harm and to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process.
While the ED has not officially commented on the petition, the agency had earlier stated that the January 8 operations were lawful and linked to its broader investigation into the coal smuggling racket. The ED has maintained that all seizures were made in accordance with the statutory procedures under the PMLA.
The coal pilferage scam being probed by the ED and the CBI involves alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal across several districts in West Bengal. The probe has triggered multiple political flashpoints between the central agencies and the state government, with the TMC repeatedly accusing the Centre of misusing investigative bodies for political vendetta.
The matter is expected to come up for urgent hearing in the Calcutta High Court in the coming days.
