Ex-Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee Granted Bail in Teacher Recruitment Scam
Kolkata: Former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has been granted bail by a special CBI court in Alipore in connection with the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam for classes IX–X and XI–XII.
However, Chatterjee will not walk free yet. He continues to remain in jail as his bail plea in another case related to the recruitment of primary teachers, also being probed by the CBI, is still pending.
On Wednesday, Chatterjee, along with other accused, sought bail before the CBI court. The agency strongly objected, arguing that each recruitment scam case is distinct with separate evidence and impact. The CBI also told the court that the scam had caused “serious harm to society,” and hence bail should not be given.
Despite these arguments, the court allowed bail on a personal bond of ₹7,000. Earlier too, Chatterjee had received bail in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case linked to the same scam.
The recruitment controversy first surfaced in 2016 but gained momentum after the ED raided Chatterjee’s residence in July 2022. The agency arrested him the next day after recovering ₹49.80 crore in cash, jewellery worth ₹5.80 crore, foreign currency, and property documents during searches at flats linked to his aide, Arpita Mukherjee. Assets worth at least ₹60 crore were seized in total. Mukherjee too was arrested for her role in the illegal transactions.
Over time, Chatterjee’s name has figured in multiple recruitment scam cases — including Group C, Group D, and primary teacher appointments. In October 2024, the CBI also arrested him in the primary teachers’ recruitment case.
Recently, the CBI filed its final charge sheet in the SSC recruitment cases for classes IX–X and XI–XII before the Alipore court. Just last week, another charge sheet was submitted in the Group C case. Altogether, four charge sheets have been filed so far, with the first one coming just 51 days after the investigation began in 2022.
The early charge sheet named Chatterjee and several senior SSC officials, including former advisor Shantiprasad Sinha, ex-chairman Soumitra Sarkar, and ad hoc committee chief Kalyanmoy Gangopadhyay, along with several beneficiaries of the alleged illegal appointments. While the latest filing has no new accused, CBI sources said additional evidence and documents have been included to strengthen the case.
