The decision has been reserved on the bail plea of former education minister Partha Chatterjee.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held a hearing in the money laundering case related to the “school job cash scam” in West Bengal. The court reserved its ruling on the bail plea of the accused, former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. During the hearing, the court told the former education minister that prima facie you are a corrupt person. What message do you want to convey to society? Corrupt people get bail easily while your establishment recovers crores of rupees?
Parth’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi appeared before the bench headed by Justice Surya Kant. He argued that the house where the money was recovered belonged to a company. Justice Surya Kant said Partha Chatterjee had complete control over the company. The properties were purchased in the joint names of Partha Chatterjee and Arpita. When he became education minister, he recruited dummies.
Suspected of tampering with evidence
ASG SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, opposed the grant of bail to Partha Chatterjee. Investigations into other cases are ongoing, he said. Even if Chatterjee is granted bail, he will not be released from jail. Parth is detained in connection with two other CBI cases. The possibility that evidence had been tampered with after his release from prison was also raised.
Lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said his client had been in jail for 2.5 years. Many other defendants in the case have been released on bail. The court said that all these cases started in 2022 and investigations had begun after the court intervened. Rs 28 crore was allegedly recovered, although the money may not have been kept at his house.
What message do you want to convey to society?
The Supreme Court told Chatterjee’s lawyer Rohatgi that prima facie your client is a corrupt person. What message do you want to send to society that corrupt people can easily get bail. Yet crores of rupees were recovered from your premises? The court further said that today we will see whether bail is likely to affect the investigation.
The question is how they will hinder the investigation. Rohatj said the court could impose a condition that they should not enter the area and could live elsewhere there. In this regard, the Supreme Court asked the ED whether the statement of the witness cannot be recorded under Section 164? Raju said if they cooperate, the ED can file charges within 2 to 4 months. We will then record the statements of these witnesses.
