Calcutta High Court on Wednesday(3rd April) disapproves of Chief Secretary’s delayed report on prosecuting officials in School Jobs Scam, despite election anticipation.
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KOLKATA: During a session on Wednesday(3rd April), the Calcutta High Court expressed dissatisfaction with West Bengal’s Chief Secretary, BP Gopalika, for his delayed submission of a report. This report was eagerly anticipated to establish a definite timeline for determining whether to prosecute officials implicated in the well-known School Jobs for Cash Scam.
Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Gaurang Kanth, constituting the division bench, remained resolute in their stance, despite attempts to grant Gopalika additional time, especially considering the impending Lok Sabha elections.
The court clearly responded when the government’s lawyer asked for more time before the chief secretary needed to submit the report, suggesting waiting until after the elections.
“If this (Lok Sabha elections) is the reason, we’ll take note of it and insist on his personal appearance,”
-stated the bench.
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The bench set a deadline until April 9 for the Chief Secretary, BP Gopalika, to submit the sought-after report, which is to detail the timeframe for the decision-making process on prosecuting the implicated public servants.
This court session was a part of the ongoing legal proceedings concerning numerous bail petitions filed by individuals accused in the scam, highlighting the legal complexities stemming from the scandal. The court acknowledged a request by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made in September 2022, which sought authorization from the State Chief Secretary to take action against the accused public servants.
“A request for sanction was made back in September 2022, which is well over a year and a half before your election notification. It’s unclear what hindered the Chief Secretary from independently considering the matter and making a decision,”
– the court expressed.
The judges acknowledged their limitations in directing the Chief Secretary to either grant or deny the sanction. However, they emphasized their capacity to demand a reasonable timeline for his decision-making.
Justice Bagchi, in particular, voiced the court’s perspective-
“However, we can certainly request a reasonable timeframe within which he will make a decision on this matter. Provide a report indicating when you intend to grant sanction because before us are various undertrials who have been detained for over a year and a half. They are all eagerly awaiting the Chief Secretary’s wise decision on this matter,”
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The scandal known as the School Jobs for Cash Scam centers on fraudulent hiring practices in primary and secondary schools across West Bengal during the 2016 recruitment period. Notable figures, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee and several Trinamool Congress (TMC) party MLAs such as Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha, face allegations of involvement. Additionally, suspended TMC leaders like Santanu Kundu and Kuntal Ghosh are implicated, making it a significant political scandal in the state.
Case Title:
Kuntal Ghosh vs Central Bureau of Investigation
