School jobs case: SC grants bail to former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, others

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee in a corruption case linked to the alleged multi-crore cash-for-school job scam.

A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh also allowed the special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the West Bengal School Service Commission's (WBSSC) then Chairman Subiresh Bhattacharyya and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education's (WBBSE) former Secretary Santi Prasad Sinha seeking bail.

The bench led by Justice Sundresh noted that former minister Chatterjee has been in custody for around three years while trial proceedings remain stalled due to delays in obtaining a sanction for prosecution against other accused persons.

It further observed that the investigation was complete and charge sheets had already been filed by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) in the case.

The apex court also directed that the trial be fast-tracked, with charges to be framed within four weeks and key witnesses examined within two months thereafter.

Despite securing bail in the senior secondary teachers’ recruitment scam, Chatterjee will not be released immediately as he is yet to obtain bail in other cases, including the primary teachers’ recruitment scam.

In the previous hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused himself from the case, following which the bench led by Justice Surya Kant referred the file to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), as master of the roster, for listing before a different Bench.

In an order passed on May 8, the apex court had directed the West Bengal government to decide on granting prosecution sanction within two weeks so that the trial proceedings against Chatterjee and other state government employees accused in the school job cases registered by the Central anti-corruption probe agency can be set in motion.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had been conducting parallel probes in the school job cases. Both the ED and CBI, in their charge sheets, have arrayed Chatterjee as the principal mastermind in the alleged cash-for-school job scam. Chatterjee was first arrested by the ED from his residence in south Kolkata in July 2022, and since then, he has been behind bars. Later, the CBI also showed him as arrested.

--IANS

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