8 months ago
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The Calcutta High Court connected Friday (September 26, 2025) granted bail to erstwhile West Bengal curate Partha Chatterjee successful transportation with the teacher recruitment irregularities lawsuit nether probe of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Mr. Chatterjee, the premier accused successful the cash-for-jobs scam successful Bengal’s state-run schools, which perceptively runs into respective 1000 crores and has rocked authorities authorities for the past respective years, was granted bail successful a lawsuit connected irregularities successful superior schoolhouse recruitment, the complaint expanse connected which was filed by the CBI connected December 27 past year.
The erstwhile Minister has been down bars for implicit 3 years now, and has already been granted bail successful the different cases slapped connected him by the cardinal investigating agencies — the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI. The latest bail bid makes him eligible to locomotion retired of jailhouse erstwhile the formalities of furnishing bail bonds are over.
Lawyers, however, expressed doubts connected whether the erstwhile curate would beryllium acceptable escaped up of the Durga Puja festival, and opined that successful the aftermath of a Supreme Court bid pertaining to a related case, Mr. Chatterjee’s formalities tin lone beryllium completed erstwhile the courts reopen aft puja vacations.
On Friday, the Bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh directed Mr. Chatterjee to surrender his passport and not permission the jurisdiction of the proceedings court, arsenic conditions of the bail.
Justice Ghosh besides directed that the erstwhile minister, who is simply a Trinamool Congress MLA, not beryllium appointed to immoderate nationalist bureau during the pendency of the trial. Mr. Chatterjee was besides directed to look earlier the proceedings tribunal connected each day of hearing.
On August 18, the Supreme Court had granted bail to Mr. Chatterjee successful a related lawsuit investigated by the CBI, but said helium would beryllium released lone aft the proceedings tribunal records statements of worldly witnesses.
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh had noted that Mr. Chatterjee spent astir 3 years successful jailhouse and his continued incarceration would beryllium a "travesty of justice".
The Supreme Court directed the charges to beryllium framed wrong 4 weeks nether the Prevention of Corruption Act against nationalist servants, with the statements being recorded wrong 2 months.
According to Calcutta High Court lawyers, the process of signaling statements successful that substance is not yet over, and would beryllium completed lone aft the courts reopen aft the puja vacations, preventing Mr. Chatterjee from furnishing his bail enslaved conscionable yet.
In the existent case, involving amerciable schoolhouse appointments astatine the superior level, the CBI besides named Ayan Sil, a backstage developer and an accused successful the authorities municipal assemblage recruitment scam, and Santu Gangopadhyay, different backstage promoter and an alleged adjacent confidant of the erstwhile minister, successful its December 27 complaint sheet, too naming Mr. Chatterjee.
The leader’s son-in-law and co-accused successful the case, Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, has turned authorities approver.
Mr. Chatterjee, past authorities acquisition curate and the caput wide of the TMC, was arrested by the CBI connected July 22, 2022 pursuing night-long raids astatine his southbound Kolkata residence during which the bureau claimed to person seized incriminating documents relating to 12 immovable properties successful the sanction of Mr. Chatterjee's adjacent associates and documents showing the assignment of Group D staff.
Subsequent searches conducted successful the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee, a adjacent adjutant of Mr. Chatterjee, further led to the seizure of astir ₹50 crore successful currency and golden jewellery worthy implicit ₹5 crore.
Mr. Chatterjee was accused of being progressive successful a racket effecting amerciable appointments of unmerited candidates to the posts of superior schoolhouse teachers, adjunct schoolhouse teachers and different posts successful the acquisition department.
After respective unsuccessful candidates successful the teachers' eligibility trial conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education moved the Calcutta High Court, the second ordered a CBI probe into the allegations connected June 8, 2022.
The CBI registered an FIR the adjacent time and the ED lodged a lawsuit connected June 24, 2022 against respective office-bearers of the State acquisition department.
