School job scam: Despite bail in two cases, Partha Chatterjee will have to stay behind bars
A special court in Kolkata has granted bail to former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in two cases related to school job recruitment scandals. These cases involve irregularities in appointing teachers for secondary and higher secondary schools by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
Despite getting bail, Chatterjee will not be released immediately. He is still behind bars because of separate cases linked to the recruitment of primary teachers by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE). These cases are part of a larger school-job scam that has rocked West Bengal politics.
The CBI, which investigated the cases, opposed Chatterjee’s bail petition. They argued that each case in the scam was different and involved serious corruption that affected society. On the other hand, Chatterjee’s lawyers pointed out that the CBI had not questioned him since July 2022, questioning the legitimacy of his continued detention.
After listening to both sides, the special court decided to grant Chatterjee bail, but with certain conditions and the signing of a bail bond. The court’s decision brings some relief to the Trinamool Congress leader, who has been in jail since his arrest in July 2022 by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials. The ED was also investigating the scam as part of its separate probe into money laundering.
Interestingly, the ED recently filed a chargesheet against Chandranath Sinha, another Bengal minister handling Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, and Textiles. Sinha is the second government minister named in the case, after Chatterjee. The chargesheet alleges that Sinha was involved in fictitious transactions totaling Rs 1.5 crore through two bank accounts between 2016 and 2021 — during the peak period of the school-job scam.
This ongoing investigation highlights the scale of the corruption involved in the school recruitment scandal in West Bengal. The cases have sparked political debates and widespread media coverage, as authorities continue their crackdown on illegal practices in school appointments.
