Supreme Court Postpones Hearing on Partha Chatterjee's Bail Application in School Job Scam Case

New Delhi, Dec 2 (NationPress) The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing concerning the bail application of former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in relation to the money laundering case linked to the purported cash-for-school job scam.

A bench led by Justice Surya Kant chose to defer the hearing to examine the duration of custody that Chatterjee has experienced in both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases.

According to the computerized case status available on the apex court's website, the matter is provisionally scheduled for hearing on December 4.

During the previous hearing, the bench, which included Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, hinted at potentially granting relief to Chatterjee and voiced concerns regarding the delays in initiating the trial.

Questioning the ED about the duration of Chatterjee's incarceration, the bench led by Justice Kant inquired, “How long can we keep him behind bars? This case has already seen over 2 years pass. If he (Chatterjee) is ultimately found not guilty, what will be the outcome?”

The bench also noted the low conviction rate in cases pursued by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In his response, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the ED, emphasized the serious corruption allegations against the former minister, stating that jobs were granted to unqualified candidates in exchange for bribes.

ASG Raju further mentioned that Chatterjee is currently in CBI custody for the primary offence and that if he were to be granted bail, there is a risk he might influence witnesses to alter their statements.

Conversely, senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, representing Chatterjee, argued that the former minister had already been in custody for over two years, with no indication of the trial concluding soon.

Rohtagi, acting on behalf of advocate Misha Rastogi, also questioned the timing of Chatterjee's arrest by the CBI, noting it occurred two years after the FIR was registered while his bail application in the ED case was still pending before the top court.

Subsequently, the apex court instructed ASG Raju to provide details regarding the duration of Chatterjee's custody in both the ED and CBI cases.

On October 1, the top court had issued a notice to the ED, requiring the federal anti-money laundering agency to submit its response within a fortnight.

Previously, the Calcutta High Court denied Chatterjee's bail application. After facing multiple rejections in lower courts, Chatterjee approached the high court, asserting that he had no connection to the substantial cash discovered at the home of his close associate Arpita Mukherjee, and that he deserved bail. The ED had seized large amounts of cash and gold from Mukherjee's residences in July 2022, which she claimed belonged to Chatterjee.

Throughout the investigation, the ED also confiscated properties including land and residential houses held directly or indirectly by the leader of the Trinamool Congress along with his close associates and family.

Chatterjee was apprehended at his home by the ED in July 2022. Since then, following initial custody by the central agency, he has been held in a cell at Presidency Central Correctional Home in south Kolkata.

Two weeks ago, the Calcutta High Court issued a split verdict regarding Chatterjee's bail plea in the corruption case against him by the CBI related to the same alleged multi-crore cash-for-school job scam. While Justice Arijit Bandopadhyay favored bail for Chatterjee and eight other accused, Justice Apurba Sinha Roy denied bail for Chatterjee and four others. The bail requests of four individuals were approved by both Justice Bandopadhyay and Justice Sinha Roy.

The division bench mandated that the matter be escalated to Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam. Last week, it was confirmed that a single-judge bench led by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty would address this matter, including Chatterjee's bail application.