The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday declined to grant an urgent hearing to a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) challenging the freezing of three of its bank accounts, which together hold around Rs 440 crore.
Refusing to accord priority to the matter, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said the petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC would be heard according to its listing serial.
Appearing for the party, lawyer Kishore Dutta informed the court that three TMC bank accounts had been placed under a debit freeze, blocking all outward transactions, and sought an urgent hearing. However, the court declined the request.
The debit freeze was imposed on three Trinamool Congress bank accounts holding around Rs 440 crore following complaints filed by MLAs aligned with rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee at the cyber crime police station under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.
The legislators sought registration of an FIR and a detailed investigation into the accounts, questioning the source of the funds deposited in them and seeking a probe into the transactions.
In their complaints, the MLAs urged investigators to determine whether the funds originated from lawful sources or from alleged unlawful activities, including suspected cut-money collections, diversion of public funds and proceeds of scams.
