Former West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee Released on Bail After Three Years in Cash-for-School Jobs Scam Case

Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee was granted bail and released on Tuesday, following over three years of incarceration that began with his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on July 23, 2022.

The Trinamool Congress leader had been implicated in multiple cases by the CBI related to irregularities in the School Service Commission recruitment process for teaching and non-teaching positions from 2016.

Chatterjee had been hospitalized for 203 days at a private facility in Mukundapur, southeastern Kolkata, reportedly due to kidney and heart ailments. His release from judicial custody came after he provided the required bail bond.

The release followed the completion of witness examinations before a special CBI court in a case involving alleged corruption in Group C staff recruitment. After recording testimony from the final witness, the CBI court approved his bail request and forwarded the order through proper channels to the Presidency jail authorities.

Chatterjee was discharged from the hospital where he had been admitted since April 22 this year. He had previously secured bail in the ED cases, and on August 18, the Supreme Court had ruled that he could receive bail in the Group C recruitment case after witness statements were recorded.

On September 26, the Calcutta High Court granted him bail with specific conditions, including a prohibition from holding any public office during the ongoing investigation and trial, with the exception of maintaining his position as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

A significant number of supporters gathered outside the hospital, chanting "Partha da zindabad" as the former Trinamool Congress secretary general departed around 2 pm for his residence in Naktala, south Kolkata. Although he made no public statement, witnesses observed him sitting with folded hands and tearful eyes in the front passenger seat.

West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya commented, "Release on bail doesn't mean that Chatterjee is absolved of his crimes. Law will take its course." He further stated, "We believe that the recruitment scam is not one that was hatched by an individual. Rather, it's an institutional crime where top leaders of the TMC are involved. I hope Partha da, who is a senior politician who began his journey from the domain of students' politics, will be forthcoming and name those actors from behind the curtains."

Chatterjee's arrest by the ED followed the discovery of over Rs 50 crore in cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 4.5 crore at properties owned by his close associate Arpita Mukherjee during raids connected to the scam.

The scandal exposed thousands of illegal appointments of unqualified candidates to positions in state-run and state-aided schools across West Bengal, allegedly in exchange for financial considerations. In April of this year, the Supreme Court invalidated the panel of approximately 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff appointed by the WBSSC in 2016, citing a "vitiated and tainted" recruitment process, and ordered a fresh selection process.

This ruling triggered significant backlash against the commission and the state government from affected staff who claimed to have secured their positions legitimately but were impacted by the Supreme Court's decision.

In August, three months after the ruling, the SSC published a list of 1,804 "tainted ineligible" candidates whose appointments had allegedly been made through illegal means. The commission is now working to complete fresh recruitments for vacant positions, with "untainted" candidates given a "second chance" to demonstrate their eligibility.

After Chatterjee's arrest, the Trinamool Congress removed him from the state cabinet and stripped him of his party positions.