Bengal School Job Case: Special Court to Evaluate Charge Framing Progress Today
Click to start listening
Kolkata, Dec 26 (NationPress) Despite the ongoing holiday season, a special court operating under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata will hold a hearing on Thursday to scrutinize the status of the processes involved in framing charges related to the cash-for-school job case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The year-end court holidays began on Wednesday, coinciding with the Christmas celebration, and the courts are set to reopen on January 2, 2025.
Initially, the charge framing was anticipated to take place on December 23, but complications have delayed its completion. Notably, nine individuals out of the 53 cited in the subsequent charge sheets filed by the ED have submitted petitions seeking exemption from the case.
Furthermore, an additional challenge emerged early in the charge framing process when several defendants indicated to the court that the ED had sent them digital copies of the case documents instead of hard copies, making it difficult for them to identify and review pertinent sections.
In response, the special court instructed the central agency to ensure that physical copies of the relevant documents are delivered to all defendants named in the charge sheets.
Informed sources indicate that the upcoming special court hearing on Thursday aims to specifically assess the progress of document delivery, facilitating the timely completion of charge framing and the subsequent initiation of the trial.
According to the charge sheets filed by the ED, a total of 53 individuals and entities have been accused in this matter, including 29 individuals alongside various corporate entities and trusts.
Former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, along with his associate Arpita Mukherjee, have been identified as the primary beneficiaries of the scam, which totals Rs 151.26 crore in the cash-for-school job scandal, as detailed in the ED's fifth and final supplementary charge sheet.
As per the supplementary charge sheet submitted to a special PMLA court in Kolkata, of the Rs 151.26 crore seized by the ED, the collective share of Chatterjee and Mukherjee amounts to Rs 103.78 crore. This confiscation includes cash, gold, and attached immovable properties.
