Calcutta High Court grants bail to ex-minister Partha Chatterjee in West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, with strict conditions including no public office role during trial.
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KOLKATA: In the ongoing teacher recruitment irregularities case, the Calcutta High Court on Friday granted bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee. The order came from a single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh, who imposed strict conditions to ensure that the accused does not misuse the relief granted.
Court’s Conditions for Bail
While granting bail, the High Court laid down several restrictions:
- Surrender of Passport: Chatterjee has been directed to hand over his passport to prevent him from traveling abroad.
- Restricted Movement: He has been ordered not to leave the jurisdiction of the trial court without prior permission.
- No Public Office Role: Justice Ghosh specifically directed that the Trinamool Congress MLA should not hold or be appointed to any public office until the trial is concluded.
Background
Chatterjee, an MLA since 2001 and minister in West Bengal from 2011 to 2022, held the education portfolio from 2016. He faced allegations of orchestrating a racket that facilitated illegal appointments of unqualified candidates to posts such as primary school teachers, assistant school teachers, and other positions in the education department.
The scandal came to light after several unsuccessful candidates of the West Bengal Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) approached the Calcutta High Court, which ordered a CBI investigation on June 8, 2022. The CBI registered an FIR the following day, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) lodged a separate case on June 24, 2022, against multiple office-bearers of the state education department.
Seizures and Investigations:
The investigating agencies conducted raids at Chatterjee’s premises on July 22, 2022, seizing incriminating documents tied to:
- 12 immovable properties linked to his close associates
- Group D staff appointment documents
Further searches at a close aide’s residence led to the recovery of Rs 21.9 crore in cash and gold jewelry worth over Rs 76 lakh, intensifying the gravity of the allegations.
