The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Bengal government in the case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the January 8 raids on the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC.

“Issue notice. Counter affidavit be filed in two weeks. In the meanwhile, it is directed that the respondents shall preserve CCTV cameras and other storage devices containing the footage of both the premises searched on January 8,” Justice Prashant Mishra said in his order.

The division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Mishra and Justice Vipul Pancholi also issued a stay order – till the next hearing – on the four FIRs filed in Bengal against the ED officers.

The ED had approached the apex court seeking direction for registering an FIR against Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, state director-general of police Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata police commissioner Verma.

The matter will be heard next on February 3.

In a separate plea filed earlier on Thursday, the ED had sought the suspension of Kumar and other officers alleging they had aided the chief minister in obstructing the central agency’s officers from carrying out raids and removed evidence.

The plea raises serious issues on alleged interference by state agencies in ED investigation, the apex court bench said, warning that obstruction of central agencies probing serious offences could lead to lawlessness.