ED raid on I-PAC: Calcutta High Court to hear linked petitions today
The Statesman | 14 January 2026
The Calcutta High Court will on Wednesday hear multiple petitions linked to the Enforcement Directorate’s recent raids on the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the home of its co-founder Pratik Jain. The matter will come up before a single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh.
The hearings stem from search operations carried out last week at I-PAC’s office in Salt Lake and at Jain’s residence on Loudon Street in central Kolkata. The actions triggered sharp political and legal reactions, leading to three petitions and counter-petitions now before the court.
Originally, the case was listed on January 9, a day after the raids. The hearing, however, could not proceed after the judge left the courtroom amid heavy crowding. Wednesday was then fixed as the next date.
Keeping that earlier disruption in mind, Chief Justice Sujoy Paul on Tuesday ordered restricted entry during the hearing. Only parties and their lawyers connected to the case will be allowed inside the courtroom.
What the ED is alleging
One of the key petitions before the court has been filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The agency has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misusing her constitutional position by allegedly obstructing ED officials while they were carrying out their duties during the January 8 raids.
The ED has also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident. It has named the Chief Minister as a party and requested an inquiry into the role of senior police officers who accompanied her during the visits to the raided locations. According to the agency, officials left the premises after collecting paper files and electronic devices.
Two counter-petitions are also listed. One has been filed by Pratik Jain, while the other comes from the Trinamool Congress. In its plea, the party has claimed that the raids were politically motivated, alleging that the agency targeted I-PAC because it is working as the Trinamool’s voter-strategy consultant ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The petition alleges that the searches were aimed at accessing campaign-related documents and sharing them with the BJP.
There is, however, some uncertainty over whether Justice Ghosh will ultimately hear the matter, as a related petition by the ED is also pending before the Supreme Court.