West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her alleged interference during the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation at the I-PAC director’s residence in Kolkata.The top court described the socio-political environment in the poll-bound state as an “extraordinary situation”, while noting the CM’s entry into the premises amid the raids and the alleged removal of files related to I-PAC, which is said to be handling the TMC’s election campaign.The court described the situation as worrisome and said such actions by a sitting chief minister had put democracy at risk.“This is not a dispute between the state and the Union. We never thought that in this country, a day would come when a sitting chief minister would go to an office where there is an investigating agency. The Chief Minister of any state cannot jeopardize democracy by coming in the middle of an investigation and then say, ‘Don’t turn this into a dispute between the state and the Union.’ According to news agency ANI, the court said, this is indeed an act done by a person who is the Chief Minister by putting the entire democracy at risk.A bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria told the lawyers arguing on behalf of the West Bengal administration, including CM Mamata Banerjee and other senior officials, that they can argue on abstract legal principles, but the court cannot close its eyes to the practical realities going on in the state.“This is an extraordinary situation. Before the second bench (referring to the siege in the SIR case), we have seen that many judicial officers have been held hostage. We cannot close our eyes to the realities. You can debate abstract legal principles, but we cannot lose sight of the practical situation prevailing in the state,” the court remarked.The ED raid became a political flashpoint when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stepped into the ongoing investigation and allegedly interfered in the proceedings by removing crucial evidence.The ED had conducted searches at several places including Kolkata and Delhi as part of its investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to I-PAC.The agency has said the action is part of a routine investigation and is not politically motivated, adding that the search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment, no party office has been searched, and it is not linked to any elections.Mamata’s dramatic intervention came when she reached the residence of I-PAC co-founder Prateek Jain during the ED raid.According to the agency, she, along with associates and police personnel, “forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence” and later went to the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, where she was accused of similar actions.The visuals, known as Mamata’s “Green File”, sparked nationwide debate.