Calcutta HC allows TMC to operate frozen bank accounts for daily expenses

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) by allowing it to operate three bank accounts that were frozen following allegations of fund misuse, but only under the supervision of a court-appointed special officer. Justice Saugata Bhattacharya appointed retired judge Justice Subrata Talukdar as the special officer till September 30 to oversee the operation of the accounts. The court said the funds could be used only for the party's day-to-day functioning and legal expenses. It made it clear that no other major or minor expenditure would be permitted. The order came on TMC's plea challenging the freezing of its bank accounts by the Bidhannagar Police after rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das lodged a complaint alleging diversion and misuse of party funds. The High Court directed that any two authorised signatories of the three accounts would have to present cheques before the special officer, who would countersign them before they are processed by the bank. The court also allowed the party to pay the special officer an honorarium of Rs 1.25 lakh per month from the same accounts. While passing the interim order, the court noted concerns raised by Das that allowing unrestricted operation of the accounts could result in destruction of evidence. It said appointing a special officer would address the concerns of both sides. The court was critical of the manner in which the police froze the accounts. It observed that the FIR was registered at around 6 pm on June 18 and the accounts were frozen the very next day. At this stage, the court said it was unable to find specific material that justified such an abrupt action. During the hearing, Justice Bhattacharya also questioned the State over the "lightning speed" with which the police acted. "Why such a lightning speed everything happened? When a poor citizen comes to a police station, the police is not activated. But when a complaint is lodged at 6 pm with respect to three accounts, next day freeze occurs," the judge orally remarked. Appearing for the State, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the action, saying it was taken to protect public money. He also argued that de-freezing the accounts could trigger disputes between rival factions claiming to be the real TMC. The court acknowledged that rival factions are currently contesting the party's leadership before the Election Commission of India but said deciding which faction is the "real TMC" was beyond the scope of the present proceedings. It said the recognised faction could seek appropriate relief later, if necessary. The High Court also made strong observations against complainant Biswanath Das, saying his complaint appeared to be "omnibus" and lacking details of any specific transaction. It further observed, prima facie, that Das had acted opportunistically by raising the allegations only after the TMC's defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. "Why the complainant did not raise the issue before May 4. It is nothing but sheer opportunism," the court observed. Responding to the remarks, senior advocate K. Parameshwar, appearing for Das, said the complaint was filed after irregularities came to light following the election results. The matter will next be heard on September 21.