Kolkata: Senior minister Partha Chatterjee on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the ruling of the Calcutta High Court Division Bench. Chatterjee filed a Special Leave Petitions (SLP) and his plea may be considered for hearing by the Apex Court on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Calcutta High Court's Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon recused himself from hearing two important cases related to the alleged recruitment scam involving the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
In one case, Chatterjee, the former Education minister and current Industry minister on Thursday morning approached the Division Bench seeking a stay on the order of the single-judge bench of Justice Gangopadhyay. In the other case, the Bengal government also approached the Division Bench of Justice Tandon seeking a stay on the single-judge bench order on the deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the SSC office. Justice Tandon's Bench, however, recused itself from hearing the matter. Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava will decide the alternative Division Bench where the cases can be referred to. Incidentally, in a major development, Chatterjee moved the Supreme Court.
The single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Wednesday directed Chatterjee to appear before the CBI. Chatterjee approached the Division Bench of Justice Tandon but due to procedural issues, the Bench did not hear the matter. As a result, Chatterjee had appeared before the CBI as per the single bench order. He had also faced the CBI questioning for almost three-and-a-half hours on Wednesday in connection with the SSC recruitment scam. He was questioned about the alleged irregularities in the appointments given by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education on recommendations by the School Service Commission (SSC).
After facing questioning by the CBI, Chatterjee reached home late on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, Baruipur MLA Bibhas Sardar and Canning East MLA Saukat Ali went to his house to meet Chatterjee. He remained confined to his Naktala residence. Unlike other days when he meets people at his ground floor room to resolve various issues, Chatterjee on Thursday did not meet anyone, sources said.