ED Cites WhatsApp Chats to Allege TMC Planned Courtroom Chaos During I-PAC Hearing

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the disruption witnessed during the January 9 hearing in the I-PAC matter at the Calcutta High Court was not spontaneous but carefully orchestrated by members linked to the Trinamool Congress legal cell. The central agency has relied on WhatsApp messages to support its claim, placing these communications before the Supreme Court of India while challenging developments in the case.

According to the ED, WhatsApp chats retrieved from a group titled “Legal Minds” indicate a coordinated effort to mobilise lawyers inside the courtroom where the matter involving the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) was scheduled to be heard. One message cited by the agency reportedly instructed group members to assemble inside Court No. 5 for Item No. 10 on the day of the hearing. The ED argues that this call directly contributed to overcrowding and disorder inside the courtroom.

Soon after the initial message, another communication allegedly urged lawyers to leave the court premises and participate in a rally led by Mamata Banerjee, protesting the ED’s raids at the I-PAC office. The message referred to logistical arrangements for transportation, including buses and cars, and asked participants to gather at a specific gate before heading to the rally.

The courtroom chaos unfolded minutes before the hearing could formally begin at the Calcutta High Court. Lawyers reportedly pushed and argued among themselves over who was authorised to remain inside, despite repeated directions from the presiding judge to restore order. Justice Suvra Ghosh issued a clear warning that only counsels directly connected to the case should remain in the courtroom, giving others five minutes to exit.

However, the warning failed to calm the situation. As confusion and jostling continued, the judge left the courtroom barely five minutes into the scheduled proceedings, adjourning the hearing to a later date. The ED has described this sequence of events as a deliberate attempt to derail judicial proceedings.

The disrupted hearing was related to petitions filed by both the Enforcement Directorate and the Trinamool Congress in connection with searches conducted at the I-PAC office and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. The ED has alleged that during these searches, the West Bengal Chief Minister intervened in the agency’s investigation into the coal scam, prompting the central agency to seek a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Following the January 9 incident, the High Court deferred hearings in both petitions and later issued an advisory regulating courtroom access. The advisory restricted entry strictly to senior counsels, assisting advocates, and advocates-on-record representing the two sides, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the disruption.

By placing the WhatsApp chats before the Supreme Court, the ED has sought to establish that the courtroom disturbance was part of a broader political response to the agency’s actions against I-PAC, rather than an isolated breakdown of court discipline. The matter is now being closely watched, as it raises serious questions about interference with judicial processes and the use of legal networks for political mobilisation.