School jobs case: Cal High Court grants bail to Partha Chatterjee

The Calcutta High Court on Friday, 26 September, granted bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in connection with the ongoing teacher recruitment irregularities case.

A bench of justice Suvra Ghosh imposed strict conditions as part of the bail, directing Chatterjee to surrender his passport and not leave the jurisdiction of the trial court. Additionally, the former minister, who is also a Trinamool Congress MLA, was barred from holding any public office while the trial is ongoing.

Chatterjee faces allegations of being involved in a racket that facilitated illegal appointments of unqualified candidates to positions such as primary school teachers, assistant teachers, and other posts in the state education department.

The controversy first came to light after several candidates who failed the teachers’ eligibility test conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education petitioned the Calcutta High Court. Responding to these complaints, the court ordered a CBI probe into the allegations on June 8, 2022.

Following the court order, the CBI registered an FIR on 9 June 2022, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case on 24 June 2022, targeting multiple officials within the state education department who were allegedly involved in the recruitment scam.

The case has been under scrutiny due to its implications on transparency in public service recruitment, and the granting of bail to a high-profile politician like Chatterjee is expected to draw significant public and media attention.

With PTI inputs