The bail hearing for former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and four other ex-public servants in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case linked to an alleged school recruitment scam concluded today, Tuesday, December 17. This was stated in a report by PTI.
Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty reserved the order on the bail pleas of Subires Bhattacharya, former chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC); Kalyanmoy Ganguly, ex-president of the state secondary education board; SP Saha, ex-chairman of SSC’s advisory committee; Ashok Saha, ex-secretary of the West Bengal School Service Commission; along with Chatterjee.
Previously, a division bench of justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Roy delivered separate opinions on the bail requests of the five accused. The matter was then referred to Justice Chakraborty’s single bench by the Chief Justice of the high court for a final decision.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the bail prayers, arguing that while the investigation into the five accused in the school recruitment scam is complete, the broader probe into recruitment irregularities remains ongoing.
The central agency's counsel contended that granting bail at this stage could jeopardise the investigation, as the accused are influential figures.
Partha Chatterjee, who served as education minister from 2011 to 2021, remains in custody. He and the other accused have been in detention for around two years in connection with the school recruitment irregularities case.
