A two-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on the bail plea of former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, who was arrested by the ED and the CBI as part of their investigations into several cases linked to the alleged teacher recruitment scam.
Justice Arijit Banerjee granted bail to Partha Chatterjee in the CBI case concerning the alleged West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam. However, Justice Apurba Sinha Ray disagreed. The matter will now be referred to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, who will assign it to a larger bench.
The division bench also ruled on the bail pleas of eight others involved in the same case. Four were granted bail, while Justice Ray denied the others. However, Chatterjee, whose bail plea hearings concluded on October 7, would have remained behind the bars even if he had been granted bail on Wednesday.
Before the CBI took him into custody, Partha Chatterjee and his associate Arpita Mukherjee were first arrested by the ED on July 22, 2022, in connection with the alleged SSC recruitment scam. During their investigation, the ED seized over Rs 49.80 crore in cash, gold valued at approximately Rs 70 crore, and foreign currency worth about Rs 5.6 crore from properties linked to Mukherjee.
The 72-year-old former education minister’s bail prayer in this case was rejected by the Calcutta High Court earlier this year. Currently, the matter is sub-judice at the Supreme Court of India. Meanwhile, he has also been arrested by the CBI in a case related to an alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBPE).
On Wednesday, the High Court granted bail to Kuntal Ghosh, an expelled youth leader of the Trinamool Congress, in an ED case related to the alleged primary recruitment scam. However, he will remain in custody as he has also been arrested by the CBI.