The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to interfere with a Calcutta High Court order refusing interim relief to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had sought permission to operate four debit-frozen bank accounts containing around ₹804 crore. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale said it was not inclined to exercise its jurisdiction under Article 136 against the High Court's order and asked the lower court to expedite the hearing of the matter. The court also made clear that it was not entering into the merits of the dispute over entitlement to the funds while the larger dispute over the party's identity and election symbol remains pending.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction had approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court refused to grant interim permission to operate the four accounts. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the faction, argued that the freezing of the accounts had affected the party's day-to-day functioning. He contended that restricting access to the funds could hamper the party's political activities. The Supreme Court, however, declined to pass an order allowing the faction to operate the accounts, noting that the question of which faction was entitled to the funds could not be determined while the underlying symbol dispute was still before the Election Commission.

The bank-account dispute is linked to the wider internal contest over control of the TMC, including its name, election symbol and organisational assets. The Election Commission had issued an interim arrangement after recognising competing claims from two factions and barred both sides from using the original All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional “Flowers and Grass” symbol pending a final determination. The Supreme Court subsequently directed the rival factions to complete their pleadings before the poll panel within four weeks and asked the Election Commission to decide the dispute within three months after the pleadings are completed.

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The Supreme Court's latest order does not determine which faction ultimately has rights over the disputed bank funds. Instead, the bench declined to examine the merits of the claim at this stage and directed the Calcutta High Court to proceed expeditiously with the proceedings. The legal issue is therefore separate from the Election Commission's eventual determination over control of the party's name and symbol. A Calcutta High Court proceeding has also recorded the Election Commission's finding that rival groups led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy were claiming to represent the TMC, with the poll panel treating the matter as requiring substantive determination under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier declined to grant interim permission for the accounts to be operated, while allowing arrangements intended to meet the party's day-to-day expenses. The dispute over the accounts has consequently remained intertwined with the question of which faction can exercise authority over assets held in the party's name. The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene leaves that interim arrangement in place while the proceedings before the High Court and the Election Commission continue. The court's direction to expedite the matter comes as the broader TMC name-and-symbol dispute is already under a separate timetable fixed by the apex court.

The Supreme Court's decision means the Mamata-led faction will not, for now, receive the requested judicial permission to freely operate the four accounts containing approximately ₹804 crore. The substantive questions concerning control of the party's funds and the competing claims over the TMC's organisational identity remain unresolved. The Election Commission is expected to adjudicate the name-and-symbol dispute after the rival sides complete their filings, while the Calcutta High Court will continue hearing the proceedings concerning access to the bank accounts.

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