The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, quashed a case stemming from a controversial West Bengal Police raid at the rented residence of Suvendu Adhikari — then Leader of the Opposition — in Kolaghat, East Midnapore district, conducted during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The ruling brings a two-year-old legal dispute over alleged political harassment to a formal close.

Background: The May 2024 Raid

The incident occurred in May 2024, at the height of the Lok Sabha election campaign, when state police descended on Adhikari's rented house in Kolaghat. Police initially maintained that the raid was conducted to apprehend a wanted criminal. Adhikari, however, was not present at the residence at the time — he was attending a political programme elsewhere.

Adhikari alleged that approximately 80 police personnel were deployed in the operation and accused the force of failing to follow standard protocols governing raids and search operations. Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and supporters confronted the police at the site, leading to a heated exchange.

Adhikari's Counter-Allegations

On learning of the raid, Adhikari proceeded to the Kolaghat Police Station, where he got into an altercation with officers on duty. He alleged finding no senior officer present at the station upon his arrival. Adhikari went further, indirectly naming Abhishek Banerjee — All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and Member of Parliament from Diamond Harbour — as the alleged mastermind behind the police action.

He also alleged before the Calcutta High Court that personnel from the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which was serving as the TMC's poll strategist at the time, accompanied the police during the raid and search operation — an allegation that added a sharp political dimension to the case.

What the Police Report Said

In a report submitted to the Calcutta High Court, police stated that nothing suspicious was found during the search at Adhikari's residence. A blank seizure list was prepared, and the investigation did not advance further — effectively undercutting the original stated rationale for the raid.

This acknowledgement proved significant in the court's final assessment of the matter.

Court's Ruling and Its Significance

After examining the submissions and the police's own report, the Calcutta High Court quashed the case on Tuesday. The order ends the formal legal proceedings arising from the Kolaghat incident.

This comes amid a broader pattern of legal and political disputes between the BJP and the TMC-led West Bengal government, particularly around the conduct of elections in the state. The quashing of this case is likely to be cited by the BJP as further evidence of what it has consistently described as politically motivated police action. The TMC has not yet publicly responded to Tuesday's ruling.