Supreme Court Seeks ED's Response on Bail Plea of Former Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee

Agencies | October 01, 2024 | New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the bail plea of former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Chatterjee, an MLA and member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), was arrested in July 2022 in connection with a teacher recruitment scam involving cash-for-jobs irregularities. He is facing charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan has issued a notice to the ED to file a reply and has scheduled a follow-up hearing in two weeks, considering Chatterjee’s advanced age and medical conditions. Chatterjee has already spent over two years in jail, and his lawyer, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, noted that the maximum punishment for money laundering under PMLA is seven years.

The ED's investigation into Chatterjee began after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a probe into the recruitment scam, which allegedly resulted in the appointment of ineligible candidates as school teachers in exchange for bribes. The investigation has implicated several TMC leaders and officials from the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.

During the investigation, the ED seized more than ₹21 crore in cash from an associate of Chatterjee, Arpita Mukherjee, from her residences. A total of over ₹49 crore in cash and ₹5 crore in jewellery were recovered, along with incriminating documents linking Chatterjee and Mukherjee to the operation of joint bank accounts and dummy companies to hide the proceeds of crime. Following his arrest, Chatterjee