The Supreme Court Bench comprising Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh and Mr. Justice M. Koteshwar Singh of the directed the release of Partha Chatterjee, Dr. Subiresh Bhattacharyya, and S.P. Sinha in connection with the West Bengal Teachers’ Recruitment Scam. The order covers both RC No. 3/22 and RC No. 5/22, where chargesheets were filed by the CBI before the Special CBI Court at Alipore.
It was argued that the accused persons have been in custody for nearly three years, yet cognizance has not been taken, thereby infringing upon their right to personal liberty. The bail plea was strongly opposed by Shri S.V. Raju, ASG, appearing for the CBI. The Court, however, observed that the issue of sanction is an independent matter and its present concern was confined to the question of bail. The Bench also pressed the ASG on how long the accused could be kept incarcerated without trial.
It was submitted that sanction had already been granted against Partha Chatterjee under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and that Dr. Bhattacharyya, though proceeded against by the ED, is already on bail in that case.
Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court directed that the three accused be released on bail, with the further direction that charges be framed within four weeks under the Prevention of Corruption Act where sanction has been accorded, and under the IPC where sanction is pending. The Court also directed that after recording the statements of material witnesses within two months, all accused shall be released by the Trial Court.
Appearances:
Partha Chatterjee represented by Shri M.S. Khan
Dr. Subiresh Bhattacharyya – represented by Shri Siddharth Mridul and Shri Pramod Kumar Dubey, Senior Advocates, along with Rupraj Banerjee, Vivek Jain, and Prachi Dubey, Advocates