“...During lawful search proceedings, digital devices, electronic storage media, and key incriminating documents were forcibly removed, seized away, concealed, and stolen from lawful custody of ED officers by the Hon’ble Chief Minister with the aid of State Police,” the plea says.
It adds that ED officers were “not allowed to perform their lawful duties” at the Salt Lake office of I-PAC, and alleges the “complete subversion of rule of law caused by the political executive”.
On Friday acting chief justice Sujoy Paul in email response to ED declined to intervene.
The orchestrated chaos in the court room prompted Justice Subhra Ghosh to walk out and defer the hearing of the petition till January 14, Wednesday.
Keen on an urgent hearing, the ED’s legal team sought a meeting with acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul so he could assign the case to another judge. The team also sent an email to Justice Paul.
The acting chief justice did not give audience to the ED.
Exterior view of the Godrej Waterside Infinity building in Kolkata, where the IPAC office is situated, as the Enforcement Directorate conducts a raid on Thursday, January 8, 2025.
According to the ED, Thursday’s raids on I-PAC’s Salt Lake office and the Loudon Street home of its chief, Pratik Jain, came in connection with a coal pilferage case.
A report the ED team is said to have sent to the agency headquarters in Delhi apparently claims the sleuths had just about located the most important computers from among many in the I-PAC office when Mamata stalled the raid.
On CM Mamata Banerjee and ED raids at the IPAC office; the West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has already said --
"Constitutional authorities breaking the Constitution is a still graver offence. All these are being looked into from all angles.
.... Preventing a public servant from the discharge of his public functions is an offence, threatening a public servant and intimidating him against taking legal action which is expected of him is a graver offence. "
I am keeping my ears and eyes open. I am consulting the Constitutional experts on what to do. But since the matter is sub-judice, I don't want to make any judgment on that," the Governor said.
What's President's Rule ... all about ?
The provisions of the Article 356 -- giving sweeping powers to the central government -- is essentially aimed at restoring constitutional propriety after breakdown of governance in a state.
This is what Justice V R Krishna Iyer had said long back.
There are past precedents though controversial.
In 1992-93, the P V Narasimha Rao government at the Centre dismissed four BJP governments -- in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh -- following the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6.
Even a government led by hardcore socialist Chandrashekhar at the Centre was no different.
In 1990, it dismissed the DMK ministry of M. Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu, despite lack of any adverse report from the state governor, to seek support from Rajiv Gandhi's Congress which was wooing Karunanidhi's rival, J Jayalalitha of the AIADMK.
Even the AGP Govt in Assam was dismissed due to deteriorating law and order situation and manifold increase of ULFA-directed violence.
The Modi Govt too acted firmly in 2016. The state of Uttarakhand was placed under President's Rule, within two months of dismissal of the Arunachal Pradesh government in January that year.
ends
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