Claiming to back up its allegation that the chaos at the Calcutta High Court during the hearing on petitions over the I-PAC raids was engineered, the Enforcement Directorate has shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat with the Supreme Court in which lawyers are purportedly being asked to assemble in the courtroom.
On January 9, the Calcutta High Court was hearing two sets of petitions on the raids. In its petition, the ED had alleged West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee had misused her constitutional post by hindering officials who were doing their duty during the raids at the I-PAC office and the house of its co-founder, Pratik Jain. The Trinamool Congress and Jain had filed counter pleas.
Calcutta High Court Justice Suvra Ghosh had to adjourn the hearing because of commotion in the courtroom and said she could not continue since there was excessive crowding.
Hearing a petition by the ED on Thursday, the Supreme Court was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the developments in the Calcutta High Court on January 9 were very concerning.
"Now see what happens when mobocracy overtakes democracy. See what the high court judge observes in the order. It notes a huge number of lawyers gathered, creating commotion. She stated that the environment in the court was not conducive to a hearing," Mehta said, alleging that the Trinamool's legal cell mobilised the lawyers.
The ED also placed a screenshot from a WhatsApp group before the court. In the screenshot, from a group called 'Legal Minds', someone wrote in Bengali, "1. Today 09.01.2026, court no 5, item no 10. Come everyone. 2. Gathering today at 01.00 PM at B Gate. Come everyone. Will go to the procession of Hon'ble CM Mamata Banerjee. Bus and vehicle are arranged."
The message was forwarded by someone else, but signed, "Amit Kumar Das, Convener, High Court".
During Thursday's hearing, the Supreme Court bench also expressed concern about what happened in the high court, asking whether it had been turned into Jantar Mantar, referring to the designated protest spot in Delhi.
In its order on the ED petition, the bench paused FIRs registered against the agency's officers by the Trinamool Congress and also issued notices on the plea seeking the suspension of Bengal top cop Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma.
