Former West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee has approached the Supreme Court seeking bail in a recruitment scam case. The Supreme Court, hearing his plea on Monday, issued a notice, instructing the lower court to expedite and regularly hear the case. A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has scheduled the next hearing for 10 days later.
Chatterjee’s lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the maximum sentence for the charges against him is seven years, yet Chatterjee has already been in jail for more than two years. Notably, Partha Chatterjee filed his bail plea in the Supreme Court on September 13, 2023.
Recruitment Scam Case:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Partha Chatterjee on July 22, 2022, after conducting a raid at his residence in Naktala, South Kolkata, in connection with a large-scale recruitment scam. During the raid, the ED also searched properties linked to Arpita Mukherjee, considered to be a close associate of Chatterjee. From her flat in the “Diamond City” complex in Tollygunge, the ED recovered ₹21.90 crore in cash, along with foreign currency and gold jewelry.
Following Chatterjee’s arrest, the ED conducted further raids on July 27, 2022, at two more flats owned by Arpita in the “Club Town Heights” complex in Belgharia. This raid yielded ₹27.90 crore in cash and a significant amount of gold jewelry. The ED reported a total recovery of ₹49.80 crore in cash and jewelry worth ₹5.08 crore from Arpita’s two properties. Additionally, seven different foreign currencies were also seized.
Allegations of Corruption and Illegal Transactions:
The ED alleges that a total of ₹60 crore in assets, including cash, jewelry, and properties, were confiscated as part of the investigation. The recruitment scam involves illegal financial transactions related to the hiring of teachers and staff for the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).
Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee were arrested in connection with the recruitment scam, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later took charge of the case. Recent reports suggest that Chatterjee could soon face arrest in a separate case related to primary school teacher recruitment.
The next hearing for the current ED case involving Chatterjee and Mukherjee is scheduled for 10 days from now.