Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing of a bail plea filed by former West Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee in the SSC recruitment scam case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The matter was listed before the bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh. At the outset, the CBI sought additional time, citing the absence of the Additional Solicitor General representing the Centre. The court granted the request and fixed September 1 as the next date of hearing. Over the past two years, the former education minister has applied for bail multiple times in different courts. In December last year, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the ED’s case related to the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers. However, he continues to be in prison as he has not secured bail in the CBI case.
Chatterjee was arrested in July 2022 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered more than Rs 50 crore in cash from the residence of his close associate, Arpita Mukherjee.
Both were taken into custody shortly after the seizure. Chatterjee has remained in judicial custody since then. Initially arrested by the ED in connection with the primary teachers’ recruitment scam, Chatterjee was later named in other recruitment-related cases, including those involving Group C and Group D posts. The CBI subsequently initiated parallel investigations and arrested him in its case, alleging his involvement in multiple instances of recruitment corruption.