New Delhi:

Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case related to the cash-for-job scam, pending charges to be framed against the suspended Trinamool leader. A bench by Justice Surya Kant said Mr Chatterjee should be released on February 1 or immediately after charges are framed and witness statements are recorded.

The Enforcement Directorate had filed the chargesheet in the case, but the charges are yet to be framed.

The court has asked the trial court to record the statements of the main witnesses and frame the charges soon. “We direct the trial court to decide on framing of charges before the winter vacation begins or before 31.12.2024,” the court said.

The relief followed an argument by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgai that the senior leader has been in jail for over two years he should now get bail.

He was refused bail earlier in April by the Calcutta High Court.

New Delhi:

“On the face of it, you are a corrupt person. Crores of rupees were recovered from your premises,” the Supreme Court on Wednesday told former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested in an alleged cash-for-job scam in the state.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, which reserved its verdict on the bail plea of Chatterjee, questioned the enforcement directorate (ED) over his continued incarceration saying he could not be kept inside for an indefinite period.

“On the face of it you are a corrupt person. Crores of rupees were recovered from your premises. What message do you want us to send to society? That a corrupt person can get bail like this?” the bench told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mr Chatterjee.

Mr Rohatgi said except for his client all other co-accused persons were granted bail in the case, the latest being a week ago.

“Not everyone was a minister Mr Rohatgi. You were at the top. You can’t seek parity with others. Yes, you can question the delay in investigation and role of prosecution but not the merit of the case,” the bench told Mr Rohatgi.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for ED said that even if Mr Chatterjee was granted bail in this case, he wouldn’t walk out of jail because he faced CBI cases as well.

Mr Rohatgi objected to Mr Raju’s statement and said, “This is like he is having great sadistic pleasure. Whatever happens in other cases is my lookout. I have to start somewhere. What kind of argument is he making? I have been inside for 2.5 years.”

Justice Kant asked Mr Raju about the time required by the agency to complete the investigation as the court had to balance the rights.

Mr Rohatgi said that money was not recovered from his client but from the premises belonging to a company.

The bench said that Mr Chatterjee had a de-facto control of the company and properties were purchased in the joint name of his and one Arpita Mukherjee.

“After becoming minister, you placed dummy persons. Earlier you controlled yourself. Cases are of 2022. You were a minister, obviously you are not going to order an investigation against yourself. Investigation started only because of judicial intervention. Allegation is that Rs 28 crore was recovered. Of course such a big amount would not have been kept in residence,” the bench told Mr Rohatgi.

It said the court needed to examine whether releasing him would have an impact on the investigation and the conditions to be imposed, as he cannot be kept inside indefinitely.

Mr Rohatgi said his client was in his seventies and had collapsed even during court proceedings.

“Some conditions can be imposed like he would not enter the area or he would live somewhere else,” the senior lawyer said.

The bench reserved its order after hearing the arguments from both sides.

On November 27, the top court questioned the ED over the low rate of convictions in money laundering cases, wondering for how long the former West Bengal minister could be kept in jail.

The Supreme Court in October issued a notice to the ED on the appeal filed by Mr Chatterjee against an April 30 Calcutta High Court order denying him bail on the ground that a prima facie case was established against him under the PMLA.

Mr Chatterjee was arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided primary schools.

The politician and his alleged close aide Mr Mukherjee were arrested by the ED in connection with its probe into the money trail in the alleged illegal recruitments.

The ED claimed to have recovered Rs 49.8 crore in cash, apart from jewellery, gold bars from flats owned by Mr Mukherjee, besides documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

Following his arrest, Mr Chatterjee was relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress removed him from all party posts, including secretary general.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Hearing the bail petition of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, the Supreme Court today questioned the Enforcement Directorate over the low conviction rate in money laundering cases and asked how long the senior politician can be kept behind bars.

Mr Chatterjee, once a trusted lieutenant of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and the Education Minister in her cabinet, was arrested in July 2022 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state. He has since been removed as minister and suspended from the Trinamool Congress.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mr Chatterjee, pointed out that the trial is yet to begin and the veteran leader has already been in jail for 2.5 years in a case in which the punishment is 7-year imprisonment. “Trial is yet to start, there are 183 witnesses, four supplementary prosecution complaints, he is 73 years of age,” he said. Mr Rohatgi said that even Mr Chatterjee’s aide Arpita Mukherjee, from whose home a mountain of cash was recovered, has been granted bail.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said it is a “big case in which people were deprived of jobs and undeserving candidates appointed”. He said Arpita Mukherjee had said that the massive cash recovered from her premises belonged to Partha Chatterjee. Mr Rohatgi said nothing was recovered from the minister.

The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan pointed out that the trial was yet to begin and hundreds of witnesses needed to be examined. “This is not the only case pending before the court you see… how long can we keep him behind bars?”

While acknowledging that the ED has a Herculean task on its hands and the allegations against the minister are “very serious”, the court said, “If in the ultimate analysis, he is not convicted, then what will happen? what will happen to the three years gone by.”

The court then asked the Centre’s lawyer, “What is your conviction rate for ED? It is very, very poor… We would have understood if it was 60 to 70 percent.”

Mr Raju said he was sure the minister would be convicted in this case and sentenced to seven years.

When the bench asked what will happen if he was released on bail, the Centre’s lawyer said, “There will be a retraction of statements by witnesses. Arpita is a close aide too.”

When Mr Rohatgi said it was a “horrendous argument”, Mr Raju replied it was a “horrendous crime”. The Centre’s lawyer said this was not a case to exercise discretion. “This is about neck-deep corruption… there are extreme and soft cases, this is an extreme case.”

Mr Rohatgi said the delay in the start of trial is the government’s problem. “This is not the law of bail and this court has tried to correct and steady the law on bail in the last six months,” he said, referring to the relief extended to AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and DMK’s Senthil Balaji.

The court then said it is “very easy for a political person to indulge in corruption and then say all this”. The matter was posted for Monday.

Kolkata:

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected a bail prayer of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in a money laundering case initiated by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into money trail in a primary school jobs case.

ED officials had on July 22, 2022, arrested Chatterjee in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided primary schools.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh rejected the bail prayer of Chatterjee, who has held several portfolios, including Education from 2011 to 2021, in the West Bengal cabinet.

Chatterjee and his alleged close aide Arpita Mukherjee were arrested by ED in connection with its probe into the money trail in the alleged illegal recruitments.

The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.80 crore in cash, apart from jewellery, gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee and documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

The former minister’s lawyers prayed for his bail claiming that the investigation has been completed and that he is over 70 years old and suffers from a number of ailments. They stated that he has been in custody for over 21 months.

ED’s counsel Phiroze Edulji opposed the prayer stating he is an influential person and is a sitting MLA in the state and may try to influence witnesses in the case.

Following his arrest, Chatterjee had been relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress had also removed him from all posts he held in the party, including that of its secretary general.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)