A Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjala Bhuyan, on Friday, granted conditional bail to Partha Chatterjee, the former education minister of West Bengal, in the money laundering case related to the alleged West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.
Chatterjee was arrested by the ED in July 2022. Despite over two years of investigation, the central agency has not yet framed charges. The apex court has directed the trial to be expedited, with the framing of charges and witness examinations to be completed by February 1, 2025.
The Supreme Court ruled that Chatterjee could be released before February 1 if the ED completes its proceedings early, but he cannot be detained beyond that date. Upon release, he cannot hold public office but may remain a West Bengal MLA.
The court noted that the 72-year-old undertrial accused, jailed for over two years now, should not face punitive treatment. However, it raised concerns about potential witness tampering, given Chatterjee's political influence, if he is released before the trial court concludes examining all witnesses.
During the course of its investigation, the ED has recovered about Rs 49 crore in cash, apart from jewellery, gold bard and other immovable properties from a flat owned by Chatterjee’s associate Arpita Mukherjee. She had also been arrested by the ED but was released on bail last month.
Mukherjee consistently denied the allegations against her, claiming she was being framed. The special ED court at the City Sessions Court in Kolkata observed that she was eligible for bail, as she had already served one-third of the potential sentence if convicted of the charges against her.
Meanwhile, for Chatterjee to finally come out of jail, he must also secure bail in a separate case under investigation by the CBI, related to an alleged recruitment scam in the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBPE).
In November, a two-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court delivered a split verdict on Chatterjee’s bail plea in this case. While Justice Arijit Banerjee approved his bail, Justice Apurba Sinha Ray opposed it. Consequently, the matter would now be referred to a larger bench as assigned by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.