Bengal school jobs case: Spl court order on Partha Chatterjee's bail plea likely on April 17

Kolkata, April 11 (IANS) The judge of a special court in Kolkata is likely to pronounce on April 17 the verdict on the bail petition by former West Bengal education minister and ex-Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee in the case pertaining to recruitment of primary school teachers in the state.

The hearing on the bail plea was completed on April 3. Initially, it was presumed that the verdict would be pronounced on Friday. However, the judge of the special court where the matter had been heard for so many days did not turn up on Friday.

Thereafter, insiders aware of the development said that the order on the bail plea might be pronounced on April 17.

During the entire hearing in the matter, the counsel of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the bail plea describing Chatterjee as the “mastermind” in the cash-for-school job case in West Bengal.

The CBI counsel also claimed that the optical marks recognition (OMR) sheets used in the written examinations conducted for the recruitment of primary teachers in the state-run schools in the state were destroyed following the instructions of Chatterjee.

However, even if Chatterjee is granted bail by the special court in the case regarding his involvement in the recruitment of primary teachers in the state conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), he will not be able to come out from behind the bars immediately.

This is because Chatterjee is also a prime accused in the case of irregularities in the recruitment of secondary and higher secondary teachers and non-teaching staff in Group-C and Group-D categories, the recruitment process for which is being conducted by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Chatterjee’s bail petition in relation to the WBSSC appointment irregularities case is pending at the Supreme Court and he will be able to come out from behind bars only if the apex court grants him bail.

Chatterjee had been behind bars since he was arrested in July 2022 by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), who had been conducting a parallel probe in the school job case. Later, the CBI also showed him as arrested.

The Supreme Court recently upheld an earlier order by a division bench of Calcutta High Court last year cancelling the entire panel of WBSSC for 2016.

As many as 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in different state-run schools became jobless following the apex court order.

--IANS

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