‘Cannot turn a blind eye to reality’: SC slams Mamata for ‘interference’ in I-PAC raid case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly interfering in the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into the residence of the I-PAC director in Kolkata.The apex court described the socio-political atmosphere in the poll-bound state as “extraordinary circumstances” while mentioning that the chief minister entered the premises during a raid and allegedly deleted documents related to I-PAC, which was said to be monitoring the TMC’s campaign.The court termed the situation as alarming and noted that such conduct by the sitting chief minister had put democracy at risk.“This is not a dispute between the state and the unions. We never imagined that one day in this country a sitting chief minister would walk into the office of some investigative agency. No chief minister of any state can put democracy at risk by intervening in an inquiry and then say “don’t turn this into a dispute between the state and the unions”. “This in itself is an act committed by an individual who happens to be the chief minister, putting the entire democratic system at risk,” the court said, according to news agency ANI.A bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria told lawyers arguing on behalf of the West Bengal government, including CM Mamata Banerjee and other senior officials, that they can argue on abstract legal principles but the court cannot turn a blind eye to the actual situation happening in the state.“This is an extraordinary situation. Before another judge (referring to gherao in the SIR case), we see several judicial officers being held hostage. We cannot turn a blind eye to the reality. You may argue about abstract legal principles but we cannot ignore the actual situation happening in the state,” the court said.The ED’s raid turned into a political flashpoint when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee waded into the ongoing investigation and allegedly interfered with the proceedings by removing key evidence.The education ministry has conducted searches at various locations, including Kolkata and Delhi, as part of its investigation into alleged financial irregularities at I-PAC.The agency insisted the operation was part of a routine investigation and was not politically motivated, saying the search was evidence-based, did not target any political institution, did not search any party offices and was not related to any election.Mamata staged a dramatic intervention when she reached I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain’s residence during the emergency room raid.She worked with aides and police to “forcibly remove physical documents and electronic evidence,” according to the agency, and then went to I-PAC’s offices in Salt Lake City, where similar conduct allegedly occurred.Images of Mamata carrying a so-called “green file” sparked a national debate.