"It's not okay," the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday, sharply criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly interfering in an ongoing central agency investigation and putting “democracy” in jeopardy. The court’s stinging remarks come just a day before the state heads to polls, lending significant political weight to the controversy.

Referring to the incident, the bench made it clear that the matter could not be framed as a Centre-state dispute, but rather as an individual act that strikes at institutional integrity. “This is not a dispute between the state and the Union. A Chief Minister cannot walk into the midst of an investigation, put democracy in peril, and then claim otherwise,” the court said.

The Enforcement Directorate has accused Ms Banerjee and senior state officials of obstructing its searches at the offices of Indian Political Action Committee, or I-PAC, a consultancy firm associated with the Trinamool Congress. The searches were conducted in early January in connection with a money laundering probe.

According to the agency, the Chief Minister entered the I-PAC office and the residence of its founder, Pratik Jain, during the operation and allegedly removed a laptop, mobile phone and several documents.

The Supreme Court underlined that such conduct is “per se” unacceptable and undermines the rule of law, stressing that public office cannot be used to influence investigative processes. The observations are likely to intensify the political debate in the run-up to elections, with opposition parties citing the remarks as evidence of institutional overreach while the ruling party has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. The matter is expected to see further hearings, as the court examines the broader implications of executive interference in investigative proceedings. Legal experts say the case could set an important precedent on limits of executive authority during criminal investigations nationwide.