Jobs-for-cash scam: Calcutta High Court passes split verdict on ex-minister Partha Chatterjee bail plea

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on the bail pleas of former West Bengal State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and other accused in the school jobs-for-cash case.

A total of 14 bail applications were under consideration before the Bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apruba Sinha Ray in the cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The other accused include senior officials of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBCSSC) and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).

While Justice Banerjee decided to grant bail in all the 14 bail applications, Justice Ray denied bail to 5 accused, including Chatterjee.

In view of the difference of opinion between the two judges, the Court ordered that the bail applications of the 5 accused be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate directions.

According to the CBI, the accused persons collected huge sums of money by promising teaching jobs to various persons who were not entitled to such appointments.

Justice Banerjee in his verdict emphasised that unless it is found that an accused person is unlikely to attend his trial, bail should not be denied to him. While granting bail to Chaterjee, the judge took note of the fact that he has been in custody since September 22, 2022.

Finding that the prosecution sanction in respect of certain accused in the case was still lacking, Justice Banerjee said,

"It is highly improbable that the trial will begin on an early date...The prosecution may have an iron-cast case against the petitioner for securing his conviction. Nobody stands in the way of the prosecution to do so. However, one cannot be oblivious of the fundamental right to personal liberty and speedy trial which every under trial has. Such right is paramount and must prevail over all other considerations."

In his concluding remarks, Justice Banerjee said that the accused should be appropriately punished if the allegations against them are proven.

However, the judge opined that once investigation is complete and the charge sheet has been submitted, only in very few circumstances would the continued incarceration of accused be justified.

In contrast, Justice Ray remarked that the accused are influential, and the State is trying to protect them by denying sanction for prosecution. The judge noted that while the sanction to prosecute Chatterjee was issued by the Governor, the State had not decided on the issue of sanction with respect to other accused.

On the allegations against Chatterjee, Justice Ray said he and his aides allegedly worked in an organised, premeditated manner.

"Dr. Chatterjee occupied such a high position in the Education department at the relevant time that the same had been used to change the relevant rules in 2018 to suit their alleged purpose. Therefore, it is not acceptable at this stage that even though he was the Minister-in-Charge, Education Department, he was unaware of the workings of WBCSSC or WBBSE regarding appointment of Teachers and Staff, and hence, he cannot be fastened with criminal liability."

On the argument pertaining to delay in trial, Justice Ray said that the same cannot be attributed to the CBI, since the State government was dragging its feet over the issue of sanction in respect of other accused for years together.

The judge also refused to consider the argument that the accused are aged and ailing.

"Unfortunately, the allegations against the petitioners are that inspite of being the senior citizens and father figure of the state education system they didn’t consider at the relevant time the future and career of hundreds of young people who were like their sons and daughters."

Senior Advocates Sandipan Ganguly, Milon Mukherjee and Sekhar Kumar Bose with Advocates Manaswita Mukherjee, Rajat Sinha Roy, Surajit Basu, Anirban Guhathakurta, Sujan Chatterjee, Nayana Mitter, Souparna Sinha, Rohan Bavishi, Debdoot Bhattacharyya, Biswajit Manna, Subhadeep Ghosh, Ayan Poddar and Soham Dutta represented the accused.

Deputy Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi with Special PP (CBI) Amajit De and Advocates Arijit Majumdar and Supriti Sarkhel represented the CBI.

[Read Judgment]