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Supreme Court notice to CBI on ex-Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea
Partha Chatterjee’s petition for bail comes months after the top court granted him bail in connection with a money laundering probe by ED
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a bail petition moved by former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee who is in jail in connection with a case over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of school teachers and not-teaching staff in West Bengal.
Chatterjee’s petition for bail comes months after the top court granted him bail in connection with a money laundering probe registered by the Enforcement Directorate against him.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and NK Singh issued notice on the plea filed by 73-year-old Chatterjee who told the court that he continued to be in jail since October 2023 in the CBI case.
The bench posted the matter on March 20 to consider CBI’s response.
In his petition, the former minister and Trinamool Congress leader said that the trial in the case was expected to be delayed and his long incarceration was a ground for release on bail.
ED arrested Chatterjee in July 2022 over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in state sponsored and aided primary schools. It was alleged that people who were not eligible or qualified were recruited by the state government because they paid bribes.
Chatterjee was the state education minister from 2014 to 2021 and the alleged irregularities took place in 2018. Investigations into the matter led to the arrest of his close aide Arpita Mukherjee from whose possession the ED recovered ₹49.80 crore in cash, apart from jewellery, gold bars from flats owned by her. ED said it also found documents of properties and a company in joint holdings. Another tranche of cash was recovered from the premises of a company controlled by Chatterjee.
Following his arrest, Chatterjee was removed as the minister by the Mamata Banerjee government and from all party posts including secretary general.
In December last year, the top court while granting him bail in the ED case held that he should not be released till February 1 by when the stage of framing of charge and examination of all vulnerable witnesses got over.
The court noted that the allegations against Chatterjee were serious. However, it struck a balance by reiterating that a “suspect cannot be held in custody indefinitely as undertrial incarceration cannot lead to punitive detention.”
It went on to impose strict conditions barring his appointment to any public office except as a member of West Bengal assembly.
