Court rejects stay on ED freeze of three Trinamool bank accounts, summons party treasurer

A single‑judge bench of the Kolkata High Court on July 20 refused to grant an interim stay on the Enforcement Directorate's order freezing three bank accounts linked to the Trinamool Congress faction led by Mamata Banerjee. The frozen accounts contain a total of about ₹440 crore.

The ED has now issued a notice to Subhasish Chakraborty, former Rajya Sabha MP and current treasurer of the faction, directing him to report to the agency's Salt Lake office within the week. Chakraborty told journalists that he sought a brief respite to consult with senior party leaders before complying with the summons.

Earlier in the investigation, the ED had summoned two directors of the private aviation firm Carewell over a suspected fraudulent transaction involving one of the frozen accounts. The agency alleges that the party transferred more than ₹160 crore to Carewell for leasing aircraft and helicopters. Despite a brief, partial relaxation of the debit block granted by a different judge, the court reiterated that it would not interfere with the ED's decision at this juncture, leaving the freeze and associated restrictions intact.