No relief for Mamata Banerjee: Supreme Court refuses to release ₹440 crore from TMC’s frozen bank accounts

The Supreme Court has ruled against granting relief to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, in regards to the ₹440 crore frozen in its bank accounts. This decision came after a hearing on August 11th, where the TMC challenged a Calcutta High Court order from July 20th. The High Court had refused to allow TMC to operate three HDFC bank accounts, and also contested a related order from July 9th.

A separate petition was filed by rebel leader Biswanath Das, who claimed to represent the party's true leadership. Both petitions were dismissed by the Supreme Court, which deemed the High Court's ruling as balanced. The Special Officer appointed by the court will now handle the remaining issues. The freezing of these accounts is part of a money laundering investigation, which also involves an alleged acquisition of an aircraft and a helicopter.

TMC's senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal, represented the party, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Menaka Guruswamy. The dispute centers around the amount of money involved, with Sibal arguing that ₹440 crore is excessive and would hinder TMC's ability to meet its basic obligations.