Bengal school job case: Calcutta HC seeks report from ED's Special Director on Partha Chatterjee

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Special Director on the progress of investigation against former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee in the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in the state.

As Chatterjee’s bail plea came up for hearing before the single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, the judge wanted to know about the approximate time when the final trial in the matter can be started at the trial court.

Thereafter he sought the report from ED’s Special Director about the progress of investigation in the matter

Although the bail plea of Chatterjee was denied, Justice Ghosh significantly observed that no one can be detained behind the bars for an indefinite period in the name of investigation.

He also said that while he understands that the charges in the matter are extremely serious, he wants to know how long the investigation process will continue.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled on February 27.

Chatterjee was arrested from his residence by the ED in July 2022. Since then, after the initial days of central agency custody, his address had been a solitary cell at Presidency Central Correctional Home in south Kolkata.

His counsel applied for bail application for the first time after he had spent 13 months behind the bars. However, the ED counsel had been opposing the bail plea since the beginning on grounds that Chatterjee being extremely influential, there are chances of the evidence being tampered with and the witnesses being influenced if he is released on bail.

--IANS

src/vd