I-PAC raids in Kolkata: ED seeks to add MHA, DoPT as parties in its plea in SC

New Delhi: In an unusual move, the Enforcement Directorate has moved the Supreme Court seeking to add Union home ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training as parties in its plea, alleging interference and obstruction by the West Bengal government, including by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its probe and raid at political consultancy firm I-PAC's office and residence of its director, Pratik Jain, in connection with a coal 'scam' case. In its appeal, the agency sought "impleadment of proposed respondents 7-9" as respondents in the present criminal writ petition, failing which, it said, the agency "shall suffer irreparable loss and injury." ED's impleadment plea assumes significance as the agency is checking the authenticity of reports that West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty was accompanying the CM when she went to the I-PAC office.

According to the petition, respondent No. 7 is DoPT and No. 8 is home ministry, through their respective secretaries, whereas respondent No. 9 is the State of WB through its chief secretary. "The petitioner herein has filed an application seeking certain directions to be issued to the proposed respondents herein i.e. to initiate departmental inquiry/proceedings for major penalty against Respondents No. 3-5 along with other police officials and to place the said Respondents No. 3-5 with other police officials under suspension," the ED said in its impleadment application. West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar is respondent No. 3, Kolkata police Commissioner Manoj Verma is respondent No. 4 and South Kolkata DCP Priyabrata Roy is respondent No. 5. The agency, in its plea, submitted that respondents 7-9 are necessary parties in the present matter to initiate actions against the erring senior police officers, who were allegedly party to the disruption of ED's search proceedings on January 8. In a jolt to Mamata Banerjee, the top court on Thursday said the chief minister's alleged "obstruction" in ED's probe is "very serious" and agreed to examine if a state's law-enforcing agencies can interfere with any central agency's investigation into any serious offence, as it stayed FIRs against the agency's officials who raided political consultancy I-PAC on January 8.

The top court, while staying the FIRs filed in West Bengal against ED officials, also directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi issued notices to CM Banerjee, the West Bengal government, DGP Kumar and top cops on the ED's petitions seeking a CBI probe against them for allegedly obstructing raids at I-PAC premises. The ED's plea in the apex court follows events from January 8, when ED's officials faced obstructions during the probe agency's raids at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC in Salt Lake and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata in connection with a coal smuggling case. The probe agency has claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the premises and took away "key" evidence related to the probe. The chief minister has accused the central agency of overreach, while her party, Trinamool Congress, has denied the ED's allegation of "obstructing" its probe. The state's police have registered an FIR against ED officers.