Kolkata: Former Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee, a prime accused in the high-profile money-for-school-job scam case, filed a statutory bail application under Section 436 of CrPC before the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday.
The application was moved at the bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh, citing the prolonged custody of Chatterjee and the delay in completing the investigation or trial within the stipulated period, as provided under the CrPC.
Justice Suvra Ghosh, presiding over the matter, admitted the bail application and took on record a written submission from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency probing the scam.
The CBI strongly opposed Chatterjee’s bail plea, arguing against his release. The counsel representing Chatterjee submitted a written response countering the CBI’s objections, defending the bail application.
The court scheduled the next hearing for July 2, 2025, to further deliberate on the matter.
Chatterjee, who has been in custody for an extended period, is accused of involvement in a multi-crore recruitment scam involving the illegal appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff in Bengal’s education sector.
Last year, the single bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty denied bail to Chatterjee and four others in the CBI case.