Kolkata: A special PMLA court in Kolkata on Wednesday imposed a token penalty of Rs 1,000 on former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee for repeatedly filing the same application in connection with the alleged multi-crore cash for school jobs scam, in which he is a prime accused.
The court also rejected Chatterjee’s bail plea and extended his judicial custody till October 11, when the matter will be heard next.
The court observed that Chatterjee has been appealing for bail repeatedly on the same grounds besides seeking a copy of the charge sheet filed by the CBI in which he has been named.
The special court on Wednesday also officially accepted the copy of the charge sheet filed by the CBI in which Chatterjee’s name has been included.
Although Chatterjee’s name was included in the charge sheet, the central agency was till date unable to officially submit the same to the court with the Governor C.V. Ananda Bose’s assent on it.
However, on September 21, the Governor had given his assent for the same following which the special court finally accepted the charge sheet on Wednesday.
In the charge sheet, the CBI has described the former Education Minister as the principal accused in the school jobs case.
Chatterjee was arrested in July last year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is conducting a parallel probe into the case.
Since then, he has moved bail plea several times claiming innocence only to be rejected every time. He is currently serving his judicial custody at the Presidency Jail in Kolkata.
(IANS)
