The Calcutta High Court on Monday dismissed an interim plea filed by a faction of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s move to freeze the party’s bank accounts.
Justice Krishna Rao ruled that the court would not interfere with the ED’s action at this stage, effectively allowing the freeze on the accounts to continue for now. The decision comes as a setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, which had sought urgent relief.
According to reports, the ED had frozen nine bank accounts linked to the party. Of these, three accounts reportedly hold around Rs 440 crore. The Kalighat-based faction had approached the High Court questioning the legality of the freeze, citing earlier judicial observations.
The plea referenced a prior order by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, whose bench had permitted limited use of funds from the frozen accounts. Under that arrangement, a court-appointed special officer was tasked with overseeing the accounts until September 30.
Withdrawals were allowed only under strict conditions, requiring joint authorisation and primarily for specific purposes such as legal expenses.
No interim relief for daily operations
In its petition, the TMC faction sought interim relief to access funds for day-to-day operations. However, the court declined the request, reiterating that the earlier directive on restricted usage of funds would remain in force.
The development comes amid reports of internal divisions within the TMC, with competing claims over control of party resources and organisational structure following recent political developments.
With the High Court’s latest order, the party will continue to operate under financial restrictions. Access to funds will remain limited to the conditions set by the court-appointed special officer until further directions are issued.