ED tells court nothing seized from I-PAC office: 'All documents were taken away by Mamata Banerjee'

The ED had alleged in a press statement last week that Banerjee entered Jain’s residence on Loudon Road in Kolkata during the raids

• ED told Calcutta HC no material was seized during I-PAC raids linked to TMC
• ED alleges Mamata Banerjee removed files and devices before they could be seized.
• HC dismissed TMC's petition; no seizure from I-PAC or its director.

Did our AI summary help?

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday told the Calcutta High Court that the Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee took away all material before the agency tried to seize them during the I-PAC raids.

According to Livelaw, additional Solicitor General SV Raju submitted before Justice Suvra Ghosh that nothing has been seized by the ED, and that it was Mamata Banerjee who took away the files and devices. Justice Ghosh also noted that the panchnama demonstrated that no seizure was effected from the offices of I-PAC or its director, Prateek Jain, on January 8. "In view of such submissions, nothing remains to be dealt with and the application is disposed of," the bench stated, disposing of the petition of Trinamool Congress.

A bench of Justice Ghosh noted that no seizure was effected from the offices of I-PAC or its director on January 8.

ED said no records or digital evidence were seized from either location. According to the probe agency, all materials had been taken away by Banerjee, reiterating that no seizure was carried out by the agency.

The ED conducted searches at 10 locations linked to I-PAC, the political consultancy managing the TMC’s poll campaign. The enforcement agency said these searches were held in connection with an alleged coal smuggling and money laundering case. One of the sites of ED searches was the residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain.

The ED had alleged in a press statement last week that Banerjee entered Jain’s residence on Loudon Road in Kolkata during the raids.

According to News18, the ED prayed for the matter to be adjourned as it has moved the Supreme Court. The TMC’s counsel Menaka Guruswamy, meanwhile, submitted that the party was only seeking protection of its data.

Banerjee’s lawyer Kalyan Banerjee objected to the ED’s plea for adjournment. Mamata has been made a party by the central probe agency in its petition before the high court.