Today, On 17th October, In the school jobs-for-cash scam, the Supreme Court directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kuntal Ghosh to approach the Calcutta High Court for bail. Ghosh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January last year in connection with the West Bengal job recruitment scam. The scam involves allegations of illegal payments made in exchange for school job appointments.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader Kuntal Ghosh to approach the Calcutta High Court for bail in connection with the money laundering case related to the alleged school jobs-for-cash scam in West Bengal.
Ghosh had challenged a fresh bail hearing before a new trial judge, despite significant progress in his case with a previous judge.
A Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, CT Ravikumar, and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed his plea, allowing him to move the Calcutta High Court. The Supreme Court instructed the High Court to resolve the matter swiftly, ideally within four weeks.
The Bench stated,
“Go to the (Calcutta) High Court. We will ask them to hear expeditiously,”
Kuntal Ghosh’s plea submitted through Advocate Shilpa Singh and prepared by Advocates Balwant Singh Billowria and MS Khan.
On October 1, the Supreme Court instructed a special court in Kolkata to quickly resolve Ghosh’s bail application. However, on October 8, the lower court rejected his bail request.
Ghosh was arrested in January last year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the West Bengal job recruitment scam. The case involves allegations of illegal appointments in primary and secondary schools across the state during the 2016 recruitment process.
Earlier in May, the Supreme Court put a hold on a Calcutta High Court order that cancelled nearly 24,000 jobs granted under the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission. The ED is currently investigating the matter.
Read Also: SC Set Aside Calcutta HC Interim Order In School Jobs For Cash Scam
The recruitment exams, held in 2016, saw over 23 lakh candidates compete for 24,000 job vacancies. It was alleged in court that many candidates were appointed based on incorrect evaluations of their OMR sheets.
Several individuals, including former State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and TMC MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha, along with suspended TMC leaders like Santanu Kundu, are currently in custody due to their alleged involvement in the scam.