Calcutta : The Calcutta High Court, while hearing the matter regarding the I-PAC raids in Kolkata, on Wednesday disposed of the Trinamool Congress’s plea. The court recorded the ED’s categorical statement that nothing was seized during the searches conducted at the premises. Trinamool clarified before the Court that it was pressing for only one limited relief, namely protection of its data.
The case will be taken up by a Bench led by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra. The High Court proceedings on Wednesday revolved primarily around the maintainability of TMC’s petition arising out of the searches at the I-PAC office and the residence of Prateek Jain. The ED strongly objected to the petition, arguing that the defects were incurable since the person who filed the affidavit was not connected with the places searched and had no personal knowledge of the alleged seizure.
While the financial probe agency attempted to justify its powers under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, and referred to pending issues before the Supreme Court, the High Court repeatedly confined submissions to maintainability, noting that the merits and questions of search and seizure powers were already under consideration before the top court.
Trinamool, on the other hand, narrowed its case to a single limited relief—preservation and protection of politically confidential data, if any had been seized. While alleging a “well-founded fear” that politically relevant data maintained for six years may have been taken, Trinamool clarified it was not withdrawing the petition but only seeking formal recording of the ED’s assurance.
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