High Court lets team Mamata Banerjee operate three bank accounts

In an interim order, the Calcutta High Court has permitted the Mamata Banerjee-led faction to operate the three bank accounts frozen by the West Bengal Police.

A single-judge bench of justice Saugata Bhattacharyya heard a plea filed by the faction, seeking relief in connection with the frozen bank accounts. The state government had opposed the plea, claiming that the petitioners had lost their claims over the accounts following an interim order passed by ECI, which gave two separate symbols and names to the two factions to contest the upcoming bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar.

Justice Bhattacharyya made it clear that ECI's order temporarily freezing the name of 'All India Trinamool Congress' and the electoral symbol of 'Flowers & Grass' will not have any impact on the court's earlier order, allowing the Mamata Banerjee faction to have rights over the accounts.


"On perusal of paragraphs 38 and 39 of the ECI order dated 17 September, 2026, it appears that the interim order was passed to address the issue only for the purpose of ensuing byelection and as per first part of paragraph 39, order passed on 17 September, 2026, shall have effect till final determination of the dispute in terms of paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968," the order read.

Justice Bhattacharyya observed that after the interim ECI order, the court was not moving from its previous decision and the right to spend money from the funds will remain with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool till January 29, 2027.

The state police had frozen three accounts of All India Trinamool Congress in a private bank on charges of illegal transactions, and the Mamata Banerjee faction challenged the order in the Calcutta High Court. While the faction led by Mamata Banerjee received the name Mamata-AITC, the Ritabrata Banerjee faction got the name Democratic-Trinamool Congress.