Calcutta High Court Allows Trinamool Congress to Use Frozen Accounts Under Court-Appointed Supervisor
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday permitted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to operate three bank accounts holding deposits worth ₹440 crore, which had been frozen following a police complaint alleging fund diversion.
Justice Sougata Bhattacharya appointed retired judge Justice Subrata Talukdar as special officer to supervise the accounts until September 30. The court ordered that the accounts may be used only for day-to-day running expenses of the party and for legal expenses. No other expenditure, major or minor, would be permitted without the special officer's approval.
Under the court's directive, any two authorised signatories of the three bank accounts may present a cheque to the special officer, who will then present it to the bank for encashment. The court also directed the special officer to file a report disclosing the statement of expenditure incurred during the period on the next date of hearing.
The court permitted transactions to meet the legal expenses of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the honorarium of ₹1.25 lakh per month for the special officer from the three accounts till September 30.
The freezing of the accounts stemmed from a police complaint filed by leaders of a TMC faction led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. After the High Court order, Ritabrata Banerjee said he would challenge the order before the Supreme Court.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the faction led by Mamata Banerjee, said the complainants are part of a faction formed after the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results on May 4, 2026, with the 'oblique motive' of crippling a political party.
