Ritabrata Banerjee challenges TMC bank account ruling in Supreme Court

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee is taking the battle over Trinamool Congress finances to the Supreme Court. He plans to file a Special Leave Petition challenging a Calcutta High Court order that allowed the party to regain temporary access to three bank accounts previously frozen by federal investigators.

Editorial·July 9, 2026·reads: 576

Banerjee claims the legal shift is necessary because the Enforcement Directorate was not a primary party during the initial High Court proceedings. He alleges the TMC engaged in complex financial misconduct, specifically citing a 160-crore rupee transaction where party funds were used to purchase assets that the party then rented back from the shell company. He described the maneuver as a modern-day fraud, directly accusing the TMC leadership of money laundering. The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, maintains that the freezing of 440.42 crore rupees is a politically motivated effort by the BJP to stifle opposition.

Beyond the financial dispute, the political landscape in West Bengal is shifting as former TMC parliamentarians Sushmita Dev, Prakash Chik Baraik, and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy recently crossed over to the BJP. Despite these high-profile defections, Banerjee emphasized that his personal history with the individuals remains intact. He noted that while their political paths have diverged, his long-standing professional and personal connections with the trio persist, asserting that their decision to join the BJP is a matter of individual democratic choice.