Municipal recruitment scam: SC dismisses state’s plea challenging High Court order on CBI probe

MP | 22 Aug 2023 | Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the plea filed by the state challenging the order by Calcutta High Court on the transfer of probe in the alleged municipal recruitment scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

The matter was being heard by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra. 

According to news reports, the bench remarked prima facie that the municipality recruitment scam appeared to be linked with the teacher recruitment scam, which is already being investigated by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for the state, argued that the High Court had erred in its decision to transfer the matter to CBI as there was no material to prove that the state could not investigate the scam. 

“The judgement of the single judge in which status report was filed — he relies on that. So how can we say there was absence of material before the HC…It is clear that the municipal recruitment and teachers recruitment scam are linked since the same person had prepared the OMR sheets…This is the status report on which the single bench was relied,” the bench reportedly said.

The state had earlier filed a review petition challenging Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s direction to CBI to conduct a probe into municipality appointments. 

The review petition was heard by Justice Amrita Sinha, after two cases of Justice Gangopadhyay were reassigned to her by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam following the Supreme Court order. 

Justice Sinha had upheld the order by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on the CBI probe in connection with the alleged municipality recruitment irregularities. The state had then approached the division bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging the order by Justice Sinha. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/municipal-recruitment-scam-sc-dismisses-states-plea-challenging-high-court-order-on-cbi-probe-530089