Today, On 21st February, Partha Chatterjee’s latest petition heard by the Supreme Court, leading to a notice being issued to the CBI. He was arrested in July 2022 in connection with the recruitment scam. While some accused have been released, Chatterjee remains in jail. The court’s intervention could impact the ongoing legal proceedings.
New Delhi: Former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee remains incarcerated despite repeated petitions for relief, as he faces multiple legal challenges that complicate his chances of securing bail.
Recently hospitalized due to illness, Chatterjee has once again approached the Supreme Court for relief from one of the cases against him, with today’s hearing taking place on Friday.
Previously, the Supreme Court granted Chatterjee bail in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, mandating that he be released by February 1, 2025, provided all key witnesses’ statements were recorded beforehand. While this directive has been fulfilled, he continues to be in jail due to other pending cases. In addition to the CBI case, Chatterjee is also in judicial custody for several ED cases.
Chatterjee’s new petition challenges the CBI case, which was heard by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh. Following the hearing, the Supreme Court’s division bench issued a notice to the CBI, requesting an explanation for Chatterjee’s continued detention.
The next hearing on this matter is set for March 20.
Earlier on November 20, a two-judge division bench of the Calcutta High Court delivered a split verdict on the bail application of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in a case filed by the CBI.
While Justice Arijit Banerjee approved Chatterjee’s bail, Justice Apurba Sinha Roy opposed it citing his ‘influential status’.
During the hearing, Justice Banerjee also emphasised the long custodial detention of Chatterjee and drew attention to the excessive delay in the trial proceedings.
Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee’s case can be traced to 2014, when West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) announced a State Level Selection Test (SLST) to recruit teachers for government-run schools.
The recruitment process began in 2016, but was later challenged in the Calcutta High Court against alleged irregularities.
Petitioners claimed that many candidates with lower grades were placed higher on merit list of the recruitment list. It’s alleged that while serving as the education minister, Partha Chatterjee was actively involved in the scam.
Following his arrest by the ED in 2022, the agency recovered around Rs 50 crore in cash, gold ornaments and foreign currencies from apartments owned by his close associate Arpita Muhkerjee.
Subsequently, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress suspended him from the party and removed him from all the party posts.
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