New Delhi, 01 October (H.S.):

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress seeking permission to operate four bank accounts that had been frozen.

A Bench headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh said it was not inclined to interfere with the Calcutta High Court’s order, which had declined to grant relief on the petition.

The Supreme Court observed that since the Election Commission has frozen the party’s election symbol, the question of who is entitled to the funds remains to be decided.

On September 3, the Supreme Court had suggested to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that some funds be released to enable the party to meet its day-to-day operational expenses.

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju said that the amount was already available and that Rs 164 crore had not been seized. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Trinamool Congress, opposed the submission and sought relief for the party.

The ED had frozen the party’s bank accounts during the course of its investigation. Subsequently, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking relief.

The Calcutta High Court dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s petition, following which she approached the Supreme Court.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar