India, April 23 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had put "the whole democracy in jeopardy" by allegedly obstructing search operations carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the Kolkata offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain earlier this year.

In strong remarks a day ahead of the first phase of West Bengal polls, a bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria made it clear that the controversy went beyond a routine Centre-state dispute, framing it instead as an instance of individual conduct by a constitutional functionary with far-reaching implications.

"This is not a dispute between the State and the Union. A c...