The Calcutta High Court has refused to grant an urgent hearing to a petition filed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), alleging that a debit freeze had been imposed on three bank accounts of the party, which reportedly held funds worth approximately Rs 440 crore.
The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Kishore Datta before the single-judge Bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya seeking immediate judicial attention on the grounds that the freezing of accounts directly impacted the financial and administrative functioning of a recognised political party.
However, the High Court declined to accord any precedence and directed that the matter be listed in accordance with its regular serial listing procedure.
The underlying dispute concerns police action initiated by the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station based on complaints alleging financial irregularities in the party’s bank accounts. The complainants had requested registration of an FIR and a detailed investigation into the source of funds, including whether the deposits were derived from lawful income or allegedly unlawful activities such as suspected illegal gratification, diversion of public funds, and proceeds of corruption or financial scams.
The petition filed by the party challenged both the freezing of accounts and the FIR registered in connection with the allegations. It argued that the impugned action was taken without conducting any preliminary inquiry or verifying the veracity of the allegations, thereby rendering the coercive steps arbitrary, excessive, and legally unsustainable.
It was further contended that the complainant MLAs had not only raised allegations of financial misconduct but also questioned specific transactions, while failing to provide substantiated material particulars necessary to justify initiation of criminal proceedings affecting financial operations of a political organisation.
The petition highlighted that one of the complainants had previously contested elections on the party’s ticket and had allegedly benefited from monetary transfers from the same accounts now under scrutiny, a circumstance cited to suggest mala fides and politically motivated allegations.
The party alleged that the action formed part of a broader pattern of political targeting and misuse of investigative machinery, claiming that state agencies are being deployed in a manner that violates constitutional guarantees, including the right to equality and fair procedure under Article 14, as well as principles of natural justice governing administrative and quasi-criminal action.
Alongside seeking quashing of the FIR, the petition also prayed for interim protection against coercive steps, restoration of banking operations, and judicial intervention to ensure that the investigation was conducted in accordance with due process of law and established criminal jurisprudence standards.
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