The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has approached the Calcutta High Court with a significant petition, raising serious concerns over the alleged violation of its 'Right to Privacy' by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The party has demanded the return of 'confidential and sensitive' documents seized during recent searches, which it claims include critical political data for the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections.
Core Allegations: A Targeted Seizure of Political Strategy
In its petition, the TMC stated that the ED's searches at the office of its political strategist, the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), and the residence of an I-PAC director, were conducted unlawfully. The party contends that the action followed TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee's threat to move the Supreme Court against what she termed the 'insufficient' implementation of the SIR (Special Investigation Report) process.
The petition argues that under the pretext of a probe, the ED 'unlawfully' gained access to and control over the party's electoral roll management, campaign planning, and political strategy. This, the TMC claims, was done with the intent to disrupt a free and fair electoral process. The seized materials reportedly contain confidential political data related to campaign strategy, internal assessments, research inputs, organisational coordination, and electoral roll-related data intended for the 2026 polls.
I-PAC's Role and the Nature of Seized Data
The TMC clarified in court that I-PAC is a professional political consulting organisation that has been associated with the party for six years, providing end-to-end campaign support. The petition emphasised that I-PAC is 'intrinsically' linked with the TMC in maintaining crucial private data. It classified the seized information into three parts:
- Financial and administrative transactions (from I-PAC's registered office, which handles payroll and vendor payments for TMC).
- Sensitive political information for campaign strategy.
- Human resource processes for campaign personnel.
The party asserted that these materials have no 'nexus' with any scheduled offence or alleged proceeds of crime and fall outside the scope of the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Constitutional Rights and Accusations of Political Vendetta
The TMC's legal challenge frames the ED's action as a 'complete transgression' of its powers under the PMLA. It argues that the targeted seizure constitutes an impermissible intrusion into the party's right to privacy under Article 21 and its constitutional right to participate meaningfully in the democratic process under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
Labelling the search as 'a very calculative and well-planned action', the petition accuses the central agency of acting out of political vendetta to disturb the political atmosphere in West Bengal and scuttle the democratic process. It further claims that members of opposition parties across India are being selectively targeted by central agencies, and the TMC is no exception. The petition states that West Bengal has always been a contentious topic for the ruling dispensation at the Centre, leading to what it calls the 'over-enthusiasm' of central agencies in the state.
The Calcutta High Court is now set to examine these grave allegations, which sit at the contentious intersection of law enforcement, political campaigning, and fundamental rights.
