Supreme Court dismisses TMC faction plea over frozen bank accounts

Published 1 Oct 2026, 09:42 UTC

The court declined to interfere and asked the Calcutta High Court to expedite the case. The Election Commission has frozen the party symbol, so who is entitled to the money is undecided.

Reporting as of 1 October 2026, 1.30pm IST.

The Supreme Court on 1 October 2026 dismissed a plea by the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction to operate four debit-frozen bank accounts, Deccan Chronicle and Law Trend reported. The accounts hold about Rs 804 crore, according to two outlets.

The bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale declined to interfere with the Calcutta High Court's order and asked the High Court to expedite the hearing.

The court would not step in

The bench said it was "not inclined to exercise our jurisdiction under Article 136", Deccan Chronicle reported. It added: "We request high court to expedite the hearing."

The Calcutta High Court had refused interim relief on 27 August 2026. The Supreme Court left that order in place.

Why the accounts are frozen

India TV reports that West Bengal Police debit-froze the accounts on 7 July 2026, after a cybercrime complaint by MLA Bishwanath Das. That account comes from a single source.

A debit freeze stops money going out; the accounts are not closed.

The symbol freeze is the larger question

The bench noted that the Election Commission has frozen the party symbol, so who is entitled to the money is still undecided, Deccan Chronicle, Law Trend and Times Now reported. We did not find the date of that freeze or how the dispute began in the reports we read.

The High Court's order stays in place for now.

Reports differ on the amount

Deccan Chronicle and Law Trend put the sum at about Rs 804 crore. The Times Now headline says Rs 440 crore. We have not reconciled the two, so we use the Rs 804 crore figure and attribute it.

The outlets framed it differently. Deccan Chronicle led on the dismissal and the amount, Law Trend on the direction to the High Court, and Times Now on a setback for Mamata Banerjee. See how every outlet covered it.

What happens next

India TV reports the High Court will decide after the Durga Puja vacation, with the parties to file affidavits. No hearing date was given. That timing comes from a single source.

The reports we read do not say what the party can still pay for from other accounts.

This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum: 0% left, 25% center, 75% right.