School jobs for cash scam: Calcutta High Court grants bail to former West Bengal Education Board chief

Over a year after he was arrested, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the former President of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), Dr. Kalyanmoy Ganguly, who was booked as one of the prime accused in the infamous school jobs for cash scam case [Dr Kalyanmoy Ganguly vs CBI]..A division bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Gaurang Kanth noted Ganguly had been in custody for nearly 440 days and that the trial in the case is not likely to commence in the near future. The Court also factored in that Ganguly suffered from various ailments, before allowing his release on bail.. "Though the investigation appears to see some light at the end of the tunnel, in view of the large number of witnesses and voluminous documents proposed to be adduced in the two charge sheets filed till date, it is left to one’s imagination when the trial would ultimately conclude. In view of the state at which the criminal proceeding is presently poised, we are of the opinion there is little possibility of its commencement even in the near future. He is an old person who is suffering from various ailments," the Court observed..The Court added that it would be like punishing Ganguly under the garb of keeping him in jail as an undertrial prisoner if bail is not granted. The Court reasoned that the gravity of the alleged offence cannot be the sole ground to continue his detention in prison, particularly when he has not absconded or tampered with the evidence. "No doubt the allegations are grave and involve corruption which adversely impacts the society at large but till date no money trail or disproportionate assets of the petitioner have been unraveled. We are informed at the Bar that an investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) but petitioner has neither been interrogated nor arrested in the said case," the bench pointed out. .The Court also noted that the alleged offences did not attract the punishment of mandatory life imprisonment. .In view of these factors, the continued Ganguly's continued detention would not be in line with the principles of justice and fair procedure under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the bench concluded while granting him bail..According to the prosecution, Ganguly had issued "fake" appointment letters to more than 380 candidates who had failed exams for teaching and non-teaching (clerical) jobs at the State's education department. This is alleged to have happened during Ganguly's tenure as the President of WBBSE.The prosecuting agency also contended that Ganguly has close connections with the Minister-in-charge of the Education department, who is a co-accused in the case. It further argued that Ganguly had abused power and misused his office to appoint candidates illegally. .However, the bench noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not yet obtained the mandatory prior sanction from the appropriate authority to prosecute the former WBBSE President.Despite two charge sheets being filed, the concerned court is also yet to take cognizance of the case, the High Court found.As such, the Court opined that Ganguly should be released on bail, more so considering that his old age, the fact that he has retired, was in frail health and unlikely to "misuse" his official powers. "We note the fact that the petitioner is a superannuated individual. He is a septuagenarian and is suffering from frail health. He has strong roots in society. During investigation he responded to the summons issued by the Investigating Agency and was interrogated till the agency considered his custodial interrogation imperative for progress of investigation. These facts lead to the irresistible conclusion that there is no chance of abscondence or evasion of the process of law by the petitioner," the Court said..The Court also rejected the CBI's argument that Ganguly might influence witnesses and tamper with evidence if he were to be granted bail. The bench, in response, pointed out that the evidence in this case were documents that were already in the possession of the prosecution.Therefore, it allowed Ganguly's bail plea. .Senior Advocate Sandipan Ganguly along with Advocate Manaswita Mukherjee appeared for Ganguly. Advocate Arun Kumar Maiti, Anirban Mitra Amajit De and Arijit Majumdar represented the CBI. .[Read order]