Supreme Court refuses interim relief to TMC in bank account freeze case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the Calcutta High Court's decision denying interim relief to the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) faction in its challenge against the freezing of its bank accounts by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale said the High Court had passed a balanced order after considering that the party still had sufficient funds to manage its routine expenses, reported Bar and Bench.

Court limits scope to day-to-day operations

The Supreme Court also declined to examine the internal dispute within the TMC, saying the issue of the accounts frozen following a complaint to the West Bengal Police is already before the High Court.

"We are not inclined to interfere in both the matters. Disposed of," the Bench said.

At the previous hearing, the court had sought the ED's response on whether some money from the frozen accounts could be made available to a court-appointed administrator for the party's regular expenses.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, said the alleged proceeds of crime amounted to ₹160 crore while more than ₹400 crore was lying in the accounts.

"Everything is frozen. I can’t pay salaries. I can’t pay my employees. Why are you freezing more than the proceeds of crime? They are also freezing recipient account. This is not fair," he said.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, however, told the court that around ₹120 crore remained available and that the party could operate accounts for its day-to-day requirements.

TMC argues funds cannot be freely used

Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy said the money available in some accounts was earmarked for specific purposes and could not simply be used for salaries.

"There is a newspaper account which has around a crore. I can’t use that to pay salaries. Account 2 is membership dues. It’s a welfare account. The three accounts that the interim account allowed us to operate were actually for day to day use. How can we pay salaries from these newspaper funds, welfare funds etc," she said.

The case also involves a separate dispute over three accounts frozen following a complaint by rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das. The High Court had appointed retired Justice Subrata Talukdar as special officer to oversee their operation until September 30.

The ED case concerns alleged fund transfers involving Carewell Aviation India and a related entity between April 2023 and June 2026, linked to the alleged purchase of an aircraft and helicopter.