In a related ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court allowed former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee to seek future bail in the cash-for-job case that the ED and CBI are investigating. The three-judge bench of Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan proceeded to state that Chatterjee would be released on February 1, 2025, on some conditions. Such conditions include the trial court having formulated charges before the winter break, and the vulnerable witnesses must be examined by the second and third weeks of January 2025.
He is accused of accepting bribes to provide appointments in state-run schools in the capacity he held the education minister post in the state of West Bengal between 2014 and 2021. It was an alleged scam in which almost ₹50 crore was seized from Chatterjee’s properties. Notwithstanding this, the Supreme Court was keen to point out that undertrial incarceration is not a punishment, and suspects cannot be detained indefinitely. The court also upheld the accused and the requirement of a fair investigation, which brought the attention of the agencies concerned, although Chatterjee must be released on bail immediately after the accused is framed, and the vulnerable witnesses are examined.
The court was also able to respond to allegations by the ED that Arpita Mukherjee, a co-accused person in the case who became a witness in the case, claimed that she felt her life was in danger if Chatterjee was released. The bench further said that upon his release, Chatterjee would not be entitled to hold an office of profit other than as a member of the West Bengal Assembly.
As for the ED’s investigation, it cited the Supreme Court’s recent ruling but noted that due to the CBI proceedings initiated against Chatterjee, it has not been granted bail yet.
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