Calcutta High Court Grants Mamata’s Trinamool Conditional Access to Frozen Bank Accounts Worth ₹440 Crore

Kolkata (IANS): A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress faction conditional and limited access to three party bank accounts. Bank authorities had previously slapped debit restrictions on these accounts—which hold total deposits of ₹440 crore—following directives from the state police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Hearing a petition filed by the Trinamool Congress challenging the freeze, Justice Sougata Bhattacharya allowed the party to use the funds under strict supervision.

The court appointed retired Justice Subrata Talukdar as a special officer to oversee and operate the three accounts until September 30. Under this interim order, the party must route all proposed expenditures directly through him.

Strict Strings Attached to Daily Expenditures

While Justice Bhattacharya’s bench permitted the Trinamool Congress to cover essential daily operations and legal expenses from these accounts, the order explicitly bars anyone in the party from spending funds at will.

To withdraw money, two authorized signatories from the Trinamool Congress must sign cheques alongside the mandatory counter-signature of the court-appointed special observer. Furthermore, the party must regularly submit a detailed breakdown of all daily expenditures to the High Court.

How Internal Factionalism Triggered the Account Freeze

The bank restrictions originally followed a wave of intense internal political rivalry and a parallel investigation by the ED:

• The Initial Red Flag: The party’s former treasurer and former West Bengal Minister Aroop Biswas first wrote to the bank requesting a freeze, citing apprehensions that individuals could misuse the funds.
• The Rebel Intervention: Shortly after, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) belonging to the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party—led by expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee—approached the West Bengal Police. They alleged that the ₹440 crore potentially contained proceeds from corruption and extortion.

Following these dual complaints, the police directed the banks to restrict all debit actions. Though Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee’s faction initially challenged the freeze, the High Court previously declined to grant them immediate interim relief.

ED Steps in with Money Laundering Probe

The case escalated further when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), taking cognisance of the corruption allegations.

Just two days prior to the High Court order, ED officials conducted coordinated raids and searches at five separate locations across Kolkata to trace the origin of the funds, ensuring that the political battleground over the party’s finances remains highly active.