Kolkata: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court Thursday granted the Trinamool Congress faction, led by Mamata Banerjee, conditional and limited access to three party accounts that have been subjected to debit restrictions by the bank authorities, following directives from the police and later from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A petition filed by the Trinamool Congress challenging the debit restriction on these three bank accounts with total deposits of Rs 440 crore came up for hearing before the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya.
After a detailed hearing in the matter, Justice Bhattacharya’s bench gave the Trinamool Congress conditional and limited access to these three banks.
The court appointed Justice Subrata Talukdar (retired) as the special officer to operate these three bank accounts till September 30. All expenditure that the former ruling party in West Bengal wants to do will have to be routed through the court-appointed special officer.
In that interim order, Justice Bhattacharya gave permission to the Trinamool Congress to meet daily expenditure, including legal expenses, from these three bank accounts. However, as per the interim order, anyone in the former ruling party in West Bengal will not be able to spend any amount as they wish.
As per the expenditure procedures detailed in the interim order, two authorised signatories from Trinamool Congress for these three bank accounts will be able to draw money by signing cheques along with the counter-signatures of the court-appointed special observer.
At the same time, the details of daily expenditures from these three accounts will have to be furnished to the court.
The debit restrictions on the three accounts were imposed by the bank authorities following instructions from the West Bengal Police after two parallel developments.
The first was a letter from the party’s former treasurer and former West Bengal Sports and Power Minister Aroop Biswas to the bank seeking a freeze on the accounts over apprehensions that the funds could be misused.
Subsequently, MLAs belonging to the “rebel but majority” faction of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party, led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, approached the West Bengal Police with a similar request. They also alleged that the accounts could contain proceeds of corruption and extortion.
Taking note of the allegations and complaints, the police directed the bank to impose debit restrictions on the accounts.
The minority faction of the party, led by the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, challenged the move before the Calcutta High Court. However, the court declined to grant interim relief and did not lift the restrictions.
Thereafter, the ED initiated its own investigation into the matter, taking cognisance of allegations that proceeds of corruption and extortion might have been routed through the accounts, thereby bringing the matter within the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
On Tuesday, ED officials conducted raids and searches at five locations in Kolkata in connection with the agency’s investigation into the matter.
