The Supreme Court on Monday (August 3, 2026) urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to consider allowing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) access to a portion of the funds lying in three debit-frozen bank accounts, observing that the party would require money to meet its day-to-day expenses. A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B.
Varale was hearing the TMC’s appeal against a July 20 order of the Calcutta High Court refusing to grant interim relief against the ED’s decision to freeze three HDFC Bank accounts belonging to the party as part of a money-laundering investigation. The Bench declined to stay the High Court’s order but asked the central agency to obtain instructions on whether a portion of the funds could be released and revert after a week. The court, however, made it clear that it would not examine at this stage the merits of the dispute over the legality of the freezing order, which remains pending before the Calcutta High Court.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the TMC, told the court that the restrictions on the three accounts had “completely stifled” the party financially, affecting its ability to meet employee salaries, legal costs, and other day-to-day expenses. The ED had separately frozen the three accounts on July 8 as part of a money-laundering investigation into alleged transfers of funds to Carewell Aviation India and an associated entity between April 2023 and June 2026, purportedly in connection with the acquisition of an aircraft and a helicopter. The TMC has challenged the ED’s action on the ground that the agency has not identified which part of the money held in the three accounts constitutes alleged proceeds of crime or disclosed how the funds are connected to the money-laundering investigation.
The Bench also questioned the basis for the ED’s action and sought to know what portion of the funds in the accounts could be linked to the alleged proceeds of crime. “It looks very vague. What are the proceeds of crime you are talking about?” it asked, while also questioning the basis for freezing the entire amount lying in the accounts. The Bench then urged the law officer to obtain instructions on whether a portion of the funds could be released to meet the party’s immediate expenses, reiterating that it was not examining the merits of the dispute at this stage.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on Tuesday (August 4, 2026).
