The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate alleging obstruction by the West Bengal government during its search operations till the 18th of next month. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate held search operations at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with an alleged coal pilferage scam. A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and K V Viswanathan deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that a rejoinder would be filed today.

 

Earlier, the apex court had termed the alleged obstruction as very serious and agreed to examine whether a state’s law-enforcing agencies can interfere with a central agency’s probe into serious offences. The ED has alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the premises during the raid and removed key documents and electronic devices, thereby interfering with the investigation.