Kolkata, Nov 10 (IANS) Former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee may be released from judicial custody soon, with the deposition of the eighth and final witness in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) three School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment cases expected to conclude on Monday.
As per a Supreme Court directive, Chatterjee — granted bail by the Calcutta High Court — can be released from the Presidency Correctional Home only after the testimony of eight witnesses across the three cases is completed. With the process set to conclude today, his legal team is likely to move the CBI’s special court in Alipore seeking his release, more than three years after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July 2022.
If the court issues the release order, it will be sent to the correctional home authorities, who will then forward the directive to the private hospital in East Jadavpur where Chatterjee is currently undergoing treatment. Subject to medical clearance, the former Minister could walk free either later today or on Tuesday, sources indicated.
Chatterjee was arrested in July 2022 for his alleged role in the multi-crore SSC teacher recruitment scam. On the day of his arrest, the ED recovered Rs 20 crore in cash from the residence of his close aide, Arpita Mukherjee, who was also arrested. The agency also seized documents related to 12 immovable properties linked to his associates and paperwork concerning appointments of Group-D staff in government-aided schools.
In September this year, the Calcutta High Court granted him bail after prolonged custody under the ED and later the CBI. However, his release was stalled due to a Supreme Court order on August 18. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh had granted bail in a separate CBI case relating to recruitment irregularities but made his release conditional on the completion of the examination of material witnesses within two months.
The apex court had also directed the framing of charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act within four weeks and completion of witness statements within two months.
The High Court’s bail conditions bar Chatterjee from holding any public office during the trial, except his current role as an MLA, and require him to surrender his passport, attend all court hearings, and report weekly to the investigating officer.
He is also prohibited from leaving the trial court’s jurisdiction without permission, contacting witnesses, or engaging in any criminal activity. He must provide his mobile phone number to both the court and the investigating agency.
–IANS
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