KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed final charges against West Bengal’s former education minister Partha Chatterjee, ex-minister Paresh Adhikari and his daughter, along with 18 others, in a bribery-for-job case. The charges were filed at Kolkata’s Alipore court in connection with alleged irregularities in the appointment of class 11 and 12 teachers in state-run schools.
“There is no documentary evidence against Partha Chatterjee. The charges are baseless,” the former Trinamool Congress secretary general’s lawyers told reporters on Thursday outside the court where the trial will take place.
Lawyer Shantanu Maitra, who represented Adhikari and his daughter Ankita, said: “Both are innocent. Adhikari was not even an MLA when his daughter was appointed.”
Chatterjee, Adhikari and Ankita asked the court to drop the charges but their petitions were turned down.
Except Chatterjee who is being treated at a hospital, the other accused appeared in person before the court so that the charges could be read out to them as per law. Chatterjee appeared virtually from the hospital.
“Chatterjee told the court that he was innocent and should be allowed to speak in his defence. He said he was kept in judicial custody for more than three years,” a lawyer who was present in court said.
The other accused persons against whom final charges were filed on Thursday include former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) president Kalyanmoy Ganguly and former West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) chairman Subiresh Bhattacharya.
{{/usCountry}}The other accused persons against whom final charges were filed on Thursday include former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) president Kalyanmoy Ganguly and former West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) chairman Subiresh Bhattacharya.
{{/usCountry}}The investigation started in May 2022 when the Calcutta high court ordered CBI to probe the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff by the SSC and WBBSE between 2014 and 2021 when Chatterjee was the education minister. It is alleged that a section of appointees paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests. After a series of hearings at the high court, the appointments of all 25,752 teachers and non-teaching staff from the 2016 recruitment panel were cancelled by the bench of the Chief Justice of India on April 3.
ED arrested Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, on July 23, 2022. In its first charge sheet in September 2022, ED said it had traced cash, jewellery and immovable property worth ₹103.10 crore linked to the two. The charges mentioned many shell companies that Chatterjee allegedly formed to launder money.
The CBI submitted four charge sheets at the Alipore court in January 2024. Chatterjee was named in all four.