The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has escalated its legal battle against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into her alleged obstruction of a money laundering investigation. The ED has approached the Supreme Court, accusing Banerjee and top state officials of interfering with its search operations at the Kolkata offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain.

The central agency alleges that Banerjee, along with the state's Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, and a large contingent of police personnel, forcibly entered Jain's residence during an ongoing search operation on January 8. The ED claims its officers were intimidated, prevented from completing the search, and that crucial documents, mobile phones, laptops, and hard disks were seized. The agency has accused the state authorities of theft, illegal entry, and attempts to destroy evidence.

According to the ED, Banerjee's actions and those of the state officials constitute grave offenses under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including theft, robbery, dacoity, house trespass, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, and destruction of evidence. The ED argues that approaching the state police for investigation would be futile, as the accused themselves control the police machinery. The agency has invoked Articles 14, 21, and 22 of the Constitution, seeking protection for its officers from what it describes as "malicious criminal prosecution" and intimidation by the West Bengal government. The ED has asked the court to order an independent CBI investigation into the incident.

The ED's investigation is linked to alleged irregularities in electoral strategy consulting by I-PAC, including the receipt of more than Rs 20 crore in funds claimed to be illicit. The case is connected to a coal smuggling case. The ED says that the searches were conducted in connection with a money laundering probe registered on the basis of a 2020 CBI FIR, and the investigation had uncovered a hawala network through which crores of rupees were routed.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has dismissed the ED's allegations as politically motivated. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh stated that the ED has revived a dormant case ahead of elections and that Banerjee went to Jain's residence to protect the party's information assets. Banerjee has stated that she visited Jain's residence as the chairperson of her party and that her visit was political, not obstructive.

The West Bengal government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, seeking a hearing before any interim orders are passed. The ED had previously sought a CBI investigation in the Calcutta High Court, but the hearing was adjourned due to overcrowding in the courtroom. The ED told the Supreme Court that it was forced to bypass the Calcutta High Court after its attempt to seek relief there was thwarted by disturbances in the courtroom.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Banerjee of unethical and unconstitutional conduct during the ED raids. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Banerjee has brought the entire democratic process and governance into disrepute and accused her of trying to rescue something sensitive, implicating her.

Mamata Banerjee has also written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) regarding issues in the special intensive revision of voter lists. She highlighted errors in voter particulars due to AI tool usage and the non-issuance of acknowledgement receipts and seeks the CEC's intervention to address citizen harassment and protect democratic rights during the ongoing process.