Supreme Court Upholds Freeze of Trinamool Congress Bank Accounts

The Supreme Court of India refused to interfere with a Calcutta High Court order that denied interim relief to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). The dispute centers on the Enforcement Directorate's decision to freeze three HDFC Bank accounts totaling Rs 440.42 crore as part of a money-laundering investigation. Investigators allege that approximately Rs 160 crore was unlawfully routed from TMC accounts to Carewell Aviation India Private Limited and related entities between April 2023 and June 2026, with Rs 112 crore allegedly used to purchase a business jet and a helicopter.

The TMC argued that the freeze crippled its ability to maintain 17 offices and pay salaries for 250 employees. However, the court found the existing arrangement balanced, noting that 36 other accounts remain available. To facilitate day-to-day and legal expenditures from the frozen funds, the Calcutta High Court appointed a Special Officer, retired Justice Subrata Talukdar, to supervise transactions.

During the proceedings, the Supreme Court also declined to rule on a factional leadership dispute raised by rebel leader Biswanath Das, who claims to represent the real TMC. The court stated it was only examining the limited issue of the frozen accounts and left the substantive merits of the leadership claim to be decided in pending High Court proceedings.