New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) In an innovative approach, the Supreme Court on Friday granted conditional future bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who has been in jail in connection with a money-laundering case related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state, and expedited the trial.
Chatterjee, who has been suspended from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), will not come out of jail though as he has also been arrested in other cases related to the "scam".
He has been named as an accused in eight cases -- three being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and five by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, "The petitioner shall thereafter be released on bail on February 1, 2025, subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court." The court noted that Chatterjee was arrested by the ED on July 22, 2022 and said it cannot be "oblivious to the settled principles that a suspect cannot be held in custody indefinitely and that undertrial incarceration should not amount to punitive detention".
"The court would, nevertheless, ensure that affluent or influential accused do not obstruct the ongoing investigation, tamper with evidence or influence witnesses, namely, actions that undermine the fundamental doctrine of a fair trial," the court said.
Striking a balance between various considerations and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations, the bench granted conditional future bail to Chatterjee.
Recording that the chargesheet has been filed by the ED in the money-laundering case involving Chatterjee but charges are yet to be framed, the bench directed the trial court to decide on framing charges before the commencement of the winter vacations or before December 31.
It said the trial court shall thereafter fix a date within the second and third weeks of January for recording the statements of such prosecution witnesses who are the most material or vulnerable.
Justice Surya Kant, who penned the verdict on behalf of the bench, said all such witnesses, especially those who have expressed apprehension of danger to their lives (there might be two or three of them), will be examined on these dates.
The bench directed Chatterjee and his counsel to fully cooperate with the trial court for the recording of these witnesses' statements.
"The witnesses will be examined without prejudice to the appellant's right to challenge the decision on framing of charges if the decision is adverse and if he is so aggrieved. However, upon such a challenge, no stay on the trial shall be granted," it added.
The bench, however, said if the examination of these witnesses is not completed by the dates fixed due to unforeseen circumstances, the trial court may do so in the third and fourth weeks of January.
It said if the trial court frames charges against the accused and examines the vulnerable witnesses at an earlier date, then Chatterjee can be released on bail immediately prior to February 1, 2025.
Warning Chatterjee against any attempt to influence or threaten witnesses directly or indirectly, the top court said it would entail cancellation of his bail.
"The appellant shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing and no unnecessary adjournment shall be sought on his behalf. If the appellant is found involved in prolonging the trial, it shall be taken as a valid ground for cancellation of bail," it said.
The bench clarified that after being released, Chatterjee shall not hold any public post but can continue as a member of the West Bengal Assembly during the pendency of the trial.
It said bail has only been granted in one ED case involving Chatterjee and not in any other case and the court has not expressed any opinion on the other pending matters, including those being probed by the CBI. Chatterjee was arrested by the CBI on October 1.
Chatterjee has been an MLA since 2001. He was a minister in West Bengal from 2011 to 2022 and had held the education minister's post since 2016.
The former minister has been accused of being involved in a racket effecting illegal appointments of unmerited candidates to the posts of primary school teachers, assistant school teachers as well as other posts in the education department.
After several unsuccessful candidates in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education approached the Calcutta High Court, the latter ordered a CBI probe into the allegations on June 8, 2022.
The CBI registered an FIR the next day and the ED lodged a case on June 24, 2022 against several office-bearers of the West Bengal education department.
The agencies conducted a raid at Chatterjee's premises on July 22, 2022 and claimed to have seized incriminating documents pertaining to 12 immovable properties in the name of Chatterjee's close associates and documents showing the appointment of Group D staff.
Searches conducted at the residential premises of a close aide of Chatterjee further led to the seizure of Rs 21.9 crore in cash and gold jewellery worth more than Rs 76 lakh.
The trial court rejected Chatterjee's bail application on August 3, 2023 and the high court turned down his plea for the relief on April 30.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)