Kolkata: A special CBI court on Tuesday granted bail to former Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General, Partha Chatterjee, in a case relating to irregularities in the recruitment of non-teaching Group C staff appointed by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
Chatterjee was granted bail in this particular case by the special court against a personal bail bond of Rs 90,000. However, the grant of this bail would not mean that Chatterjee would be able to come out of jail.
Whether he will be freed from behind bars will depend on a verdict by the Calcutta High Court on his bail plea in a CBI-registered case in relation to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in the state, which is conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).
The hearing in this particular case was concluded by a single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh on Monday afternoon. However, Justice Ghosh had reserved the order.
Chatterjee had been booked by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in all the cases registered by both the central agencies within the larger ambit of the alleged school job case. Both agencies have described Chatterjee as the principal mastermind in all the cases registered against him in the alleged scam.
There are six broad categories in the entire ambit of the alleged school-job scam. The first, second, and third are the appointments for secondary, higher secondary, and upper primary teachers conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The fourth is the appointment of primary teachers appointed by the WBBPE, and the fifth and sixth categories are non-teaching staff in the Group C and Group D categories, which are also conducted by the WBSSC.
By now, different courts have granted bail to Chatterjee in all other cases, except the one related to the recruitment of primary teachers, for which he has continued to be behind bars.
Among all the accused in the school-job cases, the former minister is the one who has been behind bars for the longest period.
He was arrested in July 2022 at his residence by ED officials. Later, he was also shown as arrested by the CBI.
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