The Data War: Why Mamata Stormed an ED Raid

In a decisive intervention that halts the West Bengal government's counter-offensive against federal agencies, the Supreme Court has today stayed the FIRs filed by the Kolkata Police against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials. Calling the events of January 8—where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee physically entered an active raid site—a "very serious matter," the Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi issued a notice to the state government. The Court is now set to examine the ED’s plea for a CBI probe into the Chief Minister’s alleged "obstruction of justice," effectively turning a money laundering case into a constitutional showdown over state-versus-federal power.

The Context (How We Got Here)

The crisis exploded on January 8, 2026, when ED officials raided the Kolkata office of I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) and the residence of its Director, Pratik Jain.

• The Raid: The ED was probing a ₹10 crore money trail allegedly linking the Coal Pilferage Scam to the TMC’s 2022 Goa election campaign.
• The Standoff: Within hours, CM Mamata Banerjee arrived at the scene in Salt Lake. Alleging that the ED was illegally seizing "election strategy documents" and proprietary voter data, she reportedly removed files and hard drives from the premises.
• The Retaliation: On January 9, the Kolkata Police filed FIRs against the ED team for "trespass" and "theft," leading to a standoff that the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta described in court today as a "breakdown of constitutional machinery."

The Key Players (Who & So What)

• Mamata Banerjee (The Intervenor): By physically intervening in a federal raid, she has escalated the conflict beyond rhetoric. Her defense is that she was protecting "SIR Data" (voter verification lists) from being "stolen" by the BJP-led centre to manipulate the 2026 polls.
• Pratik Jain (The Target): The IIT-Bombay alumnus and current Director of I-PAC. Unlike his predecessor Prashant Kishor, Jain operates in the shadows. He controls the "digital war room" that manages the TMC’s candidate selection and outreach.
• Tushar Mehta (The Accuser): Representing the ED, Mehta argued that if a Chief Minister can barge into a raid and "rescue" evidence, the rule of law has collapsed.

The BIGSTORY Reframe (The "SIR" Data Espionage)

While the ED focuses on the "Coal Scam," the TMC’s panic reveals the true value of what was inside I-PAC's servers: the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) Data.

The Election Commission is currently reviewing the status of over 32 lakh "unmapped" voters in West Bengal.

• The Theory: The TMC believes these voters are their core support base, whom the BJP wants to delete from the rolls.
• The "Spy" Angle: I-PAC likely holds the only accurate, booth-level mapping of these 32 lakh individuals. If the ED seizes I-PAC’s hard drives, the BJP theoretically gains access to this dataset, allowing them to target (or challenge) these specific voters. The raid wasn't just for financial logs; it was a potential "Data Heist" of the TMC’s 2026 defense strategy.

The Goa Link (The Money Trail)

The Supreme Court's notice also revives the "Goa Connection." The ED alleges that ₹20 crore generated from the coal mafia (led by kingpin Anup Majee) was routed via a Kolkata-based hawala firm, "R Kanti Lal," to fund I-PAC’s operations during the 2022 Goa Assembly Elections. This connects the coal dust of Asansol to the coastal campaign in Goa, framing the TMC’s national expansion as being funded by proceeds of crime.

The Implications (Constitutional Breakdown)

This case is now a test of Article 256 (obligation of States and the Union). If the Supreme Court eventually rules that a Chief Minister can be investigated by the CBI for obstructing an ED raid, it removes the immunity often assumed by high constitutional officeholders. Conversely, if the Court finds the ED overreached, it could clip the wings of central agencies operating in opposition states.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If a federal agency raids a political consultancy and seizes their strategy servers, is it an investigation into past crimes, or an intelligence operation for a future election?

FAQs

What was the Supreme Court's order on the ED vs Mamata Banerjee case on Jan 15, 2026? The SC stayed the FIRs filed against ED officials by the Bengal police and issued a notice to the state government, calling the obstruction "very serious."

Why did Mamata Banerjee stop the ED raid at I-PAC? She claimed the ED was illegally seizing TMC's election strategy documents and sensitive "SIR" voter verification data under the pretext of a coal scam probe.

Who is Pratik Jain in the I-PAC ED raid case? Pratik Jain is the co-founder and current Director of I-PAC, whose residence was raided for alleged receipt of laundered coal scam money.

Sources

News Coverage

• LiveLaw: ED v. Mamata Banerjee Over I-PAC Raid: Live Updates From Supreme Court
• The Hindu: TMC's Abhishek presents 10 'dead voters' at Cooch Behar rally to debunk SIR
• Times of India: 20 crore routed to I-PAC Goa office from Kolkata via hawala: Enforcement Directorate

Context & Analysis

• Indian Express: Who is Pratik Jain, the I-PAC co-founder raided by ED?
• Economic Times: SIR, raids, rallies: West Bengal's election battle starts early