Trinamool Congress moves Calcutta High Court against debit freeze on 3 bank accounts

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has moved a plea before the Calcutta High Court challenging the debit freeze of its three bank accounts by the Bidhannagar police.

The matter is listed for hearing before Justice Saugata Bhattacharya on June 25, Thursday.

Earlier today, Senior Advocate Kishore Datta had urged the Court to hear the case on Tuesday. However, the request was declined.

TMC is currently grappling with internal divisions following its recent defeat in the State Assembly polls. The action against the party’s bank accounts was taken following a complaint made by rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das. TMC has argued that Das’s complaint is bereft of any material particulars and makes baseless allegations of large-scale financial fraud.

Das himself contested and won the recent assembly polls from Jaynagar constituency on a TMC ticket and was paid ₹25 lakh from the same bank accounts, as per the TMC. 

“This shows the completely baseless, mala fide and motivated nature of the complaint,” the TMC's plea argues.

The petition adds that without conducting any preliminary inquiry into the complaint, the police proceeded to order coercive measures against the party’s bank accounts. The police action has severally disrupted the party functioning, it contends.

“In light of the emerging pattern of persecution of members of the Petitioner, a recognised political party in the State and the principal opposition party in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, by police agencies under the newly elected government, it is abundantly clear that the impugned action is part of a larger pattern of pursuing political vendetta through misuse of State machinery being employed by the ruling party in the State of West Bengal,” the plea states further.

Pertinently, the TMC has also sought quashing of the first information report (FIR) registered by the police in the matter and a stay on the investigation during the pendency of the plea.