Kolkata: Monday was an eventful day as far as the multi-crore cash-for- school job case in West Bengal is concerned, as two parallel and crucial developments unfolded in connection with the matter at two courts here.
On one hand, a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata granted bail to Arpita Mukherjee, a prime accused in the case and a close associate of former West Bengal education minister and ex-Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee.
Last week, the same special court granted her a five-day parole because of the sudden demise of her mother.
The term of the parole was supposed to expire on Monday only. Arpita was granted bail 857 days after she was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in July 2022 after huge cash and gold were recovered from her twin residences.
Also, on Monday, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam referred the matter pertaining to bail plea of Partha Chatterjee to a new Bench.
Last week, the matter remained pending at a two-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court as the two judges of the same Bench differed on the matter and the case was sent back to the office of the Chief Justice.
Although it was perceived initially that the Chief Justice might refer the matter either to a higher bench or an alternative two-judge Bench, on Monday it was announced that a single-judge Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty will look into the matter.
Last week, the two-judge Bench of Justice Arijit Bandopadhyay and Justice Apurba Sinha Roy gave a fractured verdict on Chatterjee’s bail plea. While Justice Bandopadhyay granted the bail to Chatterjee, Justice Sinha Roy refused it.
As the reason for the refusal, Justice Sinha Roy stated from the proceedings of the hearing it had been evident that there had been attempts on the part of the state administration to protect some of the accused persons in the case.
Chatterjee was also arrested by the ED sleuths on the same day Arpita was arrested in July 2022. Since then, a solitary cell of Presidency Central Correctional Home in Kolkata had been his abode.
