ED likely to delay Bengal Minister's release from judicial custody

Kolkata, Sep 30 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the coming days is likely to delay the release of the former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee from his continuing judicial custody since July 2022 for another indefinite period, officials said on Tuesday.

On September 26, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court granted Chatterjee bail in a case registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers.

With the development, decks are finally cleared for Chatterjee to be free from judicial custody since this was the last case filed against him in relation to the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case registered both by the CBI and ED against him, where he was finally granted bail.

However, Chatterjee could not be freed from judicial custody on that day because of some technical reasons.

On August 18, during the hearing over Chatterjee's bail plea, the Supreme Court said that the lower court (a special CBI court in this case), will have to first complete the process of framing of charges in all the cases registered against him by the central probe agency and record the statements of the witnesses in all the cases and only after that the former West Bengal Education Minister could be freed from judicial custody.

This would mean that Chatterjee would be finally free of judicial custody latest by November this year, when the process of recording the statements of witnesses would be completed.

However, sources aware of the development, said that ED still has one avenue through which it could prolong Chatterjee's tenure in judicial custody for another indefinite period even after November this year.

Explaining this last possible avenue to prevent his release from judicial custody, sources said that despite being shown as accused by both the CBI and ED in both the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), the ED is yet to either arrest Chatterjee or show him as arrested in the WBSSC-related cases.

Sources added that in case ED opts for that avenue, and now shows Chatterjee as arrested before his probable release from judicial custody in November this year, and then there is a high possibility that his continuing judicial custody will be prolonged for another indefinite period.

The ED had adopted the same strategy in the case of Trinamool Congress legislator from Burwan Assembly constituency in Murshidabad, Jiban Krishna Saha, who was arrested by ED last month in the WBSSC case.

He was earlier arrested by the CBI in the same case and later also released on bail.

However, following his fresh arrest by ED sleuths last month, Saha is again in judicial custody.

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