The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s conduct of “walking into the midst” of an ongoing Directorate of Enforcement (ED) raid at I-PAC premises in Kolkata in January cannot translate to a Centre-State dispute.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria was responding to an argument made by the West Bengal government side, represented by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, that the writ petition filed by the ED in the apex court for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation against Ms. Banerjee, senior police and State officials who accompanied her.
Ms. Guruswamy said the Union Government had to move the Supreme Court in an original suit under Article 131 of the Constitution as ED, being a Central agency, was part of it.
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“But this cannot be construed as a dispute between the State and the Centre. A Chief Minister cannot just walk into an ongoing investigation… This is not per se a dispute between the State of West Bengal and the Union of India. This is per se an act committed by an individual who happens to be the Chief Minister of the State,” Justice Mishra reacted.
