The Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the speed with which the West Bengal Police froze the bank accounts of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), observing that the action appeared to have been taken in "hot haste" soon after the registration of an FIR. While considering the party's challenge to the debit freeze, the Court directed the authorities to submit a report on the funds lying in the frozen accounts but declined to grant immediate interim relief.
Background of the Case
The petition was filed by the All India Trinamool Congress challenging the freezing of several bank accounts by the Bidhannagar Police following a complaint alleging diversion of party funds.
The TMC argued that the complaint lacked specific material and that the police froze its accounts without conducting a proper preliminary inquiry, disrupting the party's day-to-day functioning.
Appearing for the State, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to place the investigation records before the Court. Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing the complainant, also questioned the maintainability of the petition.
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Court's Observations
Justice Saugata Bhattacharya expressed concern over the sequence of events leading to the freezing of the accounts.
The Bench observed,
"FIR was registered at 18:00 hours, and next day bank is writing to petitioner (TMC) that accounts are debit freezed. It is passing through the mind of the court that, in hot haste, why this entire thing was done?"
The Court also noted that the complaint appeared broad in nature and remarked that there were no clear allegations identifying particular incidents or accused persons.
During the hearing, the Court floated the possibility of allowing the party to operate the bank accounts under the supervision of court-appointed Special Officers, possibly retired High Court judges, so that routine expenses could continue while the investigation proceeds. However, the Court chose not to pass any such interim order at this stage.
Decision
Accepting the State's request for additional time, the High Court directed the authorities to file a report disclosing the corpus and balances available in the frozen bank accounts by July 7, 2026.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 8, 2026, and no interim direction for de-freezing or supervised operation of the accounts was granted.
Case Details
Case Title: All India Trinamool Congress and Anr. v. State of West Bengal and Ors.
Case Number: WPA 14081 of 2026
Judge: Justice Saugata Bhattacharya
Decision Date: July 2, 2026
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