NEW DELHI: Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, referring to the recent obstruction faced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during its search operations in West Bengal, on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it was "a case where mobocracy replaces democracy".
Appearing for the ED, SG Mehta, the second-highest law officer, submitted before a Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi that the federal anti-money laundering agency was prevented from discharging its lawful duties through intimidation, disruption, and show of force.
During the raids conducted at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in Kolkata, the Solicitor General said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with senior police officers, barged into the premises and interfered with the search operation.