BJP West Bengal in-charge Amit Malviya. File | Photo credit: PTI
The BJP on Thursday (Jan 15, 2026) termed the Supreme Court’s observations on the Enforcement Directorate’s petition on alleged obstruction during raids on the premises of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) as a “serious indictment” of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government, alleging that those who covered the scams were abusing the state machinery.
This comes after the apex court described the ED’s allegation that Ms Banerjee had caused “obstructions” in its investigation as “very serious” and agreed to review whether state law enforcement agencies can interfere in the investigation of any serious crime by any central agency.
The Supreme Court stayed the FIR filed in West Bengal against ED officials who raided the office of I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain on January 8, 2026 and directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids.
A bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi issued notices to Ms. Banerjee, the West Bengal government, Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar and top cops on the ED’s petitions seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against them for allegedly botching raids on the I-PAC premises.
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Reacting to the development, West Bengal Joint In-charge Amit Malviya said, “This is a serious indictment of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government.” In a “scorching” observation, the Supreme Court observed that the plea raises serious issues of alleged interference by state authorities in the ongoing ED investigation, he said.
The court warned that obstruction of central agencies investigating serious economic offenses could lead to illegality, he said in a post on X.
This is a serious indictment of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government.
The Supreme Court stayed the West Bengal Police’s FIR registration against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in connection with the I-PAC raid involving accused linked to… pic.twitter.com/7U6pubFE3H
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 15, 2026
Mr. Malviya further said that when the Chief Minister uses the state machinery to protect those accused of coal smuggling and money laundering and to intimidate the Central authorities, the Supreme Court’s intervention becomes “inevitable”.
Ms. Banerjee’s conduct during the ED raids on the I-PAC premises was not management but abuse of power to protect corruption.
The ED’s plea in the apex court follows the events of January 8, 2026, when ED officials faced obstruction during the probe agency’s raids at the Salt Lake office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and its head Pratik Jain’s residence in Kolkata in connection with the coal smuggling case.
The investigating agency alleged that Ms. Banerjee entered the premises and took away “crucial” evidence related to the investigation.
The chief minister accused the central agency of exaggeration, while her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), denied the ED’s allegations of “obstructing” its probe. The state police has registered an FIR against the ED officers.
Published – 15 Jan 2026 17:43 IST
