The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam but made his release conditional on the trial court recording statements of key witnesses in the case.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh observed that Chatterjee had already spent nearly three years in custody, and prolonging his incarceration any further would amount to a “travesty of justice.”
The bench directed the trial court to frame charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused public servants within four weeks. The court further ordered that the statements of material witnesses must be recorded within two months, after which Chatterjee would be released on bail.
Along with Chatterjee, the apex court also extended bail to Subires Bhattacharya and Shantiprasad Sinha, who are co-accused in the case.
Chatterjee, who has been a legislator since 2001 and held several ministerial positions—including the education portfolio from 2016 to 2022—was arrested for his alleged role in orchestrating illegal appointments in the state education department. The alleged scam involved irregularities in the recruitment of primary school teachers, assistant teachers, and other posts.
The controversy began after unsuccessful candidates in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education moved the Calcutta High Court. On June 8, 2022, the high court ordered a CBI probe, following which the agency registered an FIR the next day. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also filed a case on June 24, 2022.
During raids on Chatterjee’s premises in July 2022, the agencies claimed to have recovered incriminating documents relating to 12 immovable properties allegedly linked to his close associates. Searches at the residence of one of his aides led to the seizure of ₹21.9 crore in cash and gold jewellery worth over ₹76 lakh.
Chatterjee’s earlier efforts to secure bail had failed. The trial court rejected his plea on August 3, 2023, and the Calcutta High Court dismissed his bail application again on April 30, 2024.
With the Supreme Court now stepping in, Chatterjee’s release is set to hinge on the speedy progress of witness examination in the trial court.
