West Bengal Administration Challenges Jurisdiction of ED Petition in Supreme Court Regarding I-PAC Investigation

In a significant legal development, the West Bengal government has formally contested the maintainability of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) petition currently before the Supreme Court concerning the I-PAC case. The state administration has raised substantive jurisdictional questions, arguing that the ED's Supreme Court petition should be deemed inadmissible given the existence of a parallel proceeding on identical legal grounds before the Calcutta High Court. This strategic legal maneuver underscores the state's position that the High Court remains the appropriate forum for adjudicating the matter, thereby potentially delaying or redirecting the central agency's judicial avenue. The case, which involves allegations related to the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), represents a critical flashpoint in the ongoing tensions between state and central investigative authorities. The state's challenge focuses on procedural propriety and the principle of judicial hierarchy, suggesting that allowing the Supreme Court petition to proceed would constitute forum shopping and undermine the authority of the High Court. This development is likely to have considerable implications for the trajectory of the investigation and the broader dynamic of federal legal disputes in India.