Did Partha Chatterjee Just Get Bail in Another WBSSC Job Case?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Partha Chatterjee granted bail in a specific case.
- His release is contingent on another court ruling.
- He has been labeled a key figure in the school job scam.
- The scam involves six different recruitment categories.
- Chatterjee has been in custody since July 2022.
Kolkata, Sep 16 (NationPress) A special CBI court has granted bail to former Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General, Partha Chatterjee, regarding allegations of misconduct in the hiring processes for non-teaching Group C personnel by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
Chatterjee received bail in this case by providing a personal bail bond of Rs 90,000. However, this does not imply his immediate release from custody.
The decision on his release will hinge on the Calcutta High Court's ruling concerning his bail application in a different CBI matter tied to irregularities in primary teacher recruitment overseen by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).
The hearing for this case was completed by a single-judge bench led by Justice Suvra Ghosh on Monday afternoon, but the order has been reserved.
Chatterjee has faced charges from both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to multiple cases linked to the broader school job scandal. Both agencies have labeled him as the primary architect behind these alleged fraudulent activities.
The scope of the alleged school-job scam encompasses six primary areas. The first three involve the recruitment of secondary, higher secondary, and upper primary teachers managed by the WBSSC. The fourth pertains to primary teachers hired by the WBBPE, while the fifth and sixth categories concern non-teaching personnel in Group C and Group D roles, also under the WBSSC's jurisdiction.
To date, Chatterjee has been granted bail in all cases except the one related to primary teacher recruitment, leaving him still incarcerated.
Among the defendants involved in the school-job cases, Chatterjee has remained in custody the longest, having been arrested in July 2022 at his home by ED agents. Subsequently, he was also apprehended by the CBI.