Calcutta HC divided on Partha Chatterjee's bail in SSC scam, Chief Justice to refer to Third bench

The Calcutta High Court is currently divided over the bail applications in the SSC recruitment corruption case, involving former state minister Partha Chatterjee and four others. On Wednesday, Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Roy delivered conflicting opinions on the bail pleas of nine individuals arrested in connection with the education scam. Justice Banerjee granted bail to all nine, while Justice Sinha Roy only approved the bail of four individuals, denying it to the five other key figures involved in the case.

The four individuals who received bail from Justice Sinha Roy—Kaushik Ghosh, Sheikh Ali Imam, Subrata Samant Roy, and Chandan Mandal—are accused of acting as middlemen in the recruitment scam, allegedly facilitating the exchange of money for jobs. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified these individuals as key players in the scheme. Justice Sinha Roy did not grant bail to Partha Chatterjee, Subiresh Bhattacharya, Ashok Saha, Kalyanmay Gangopadhyay, and SP Sinha, citing their influential positions and concerns that granting bail could affect the course of the investigation.

In contrast, Justice Banerjee, who granted bail to all the accused, did not agree with the concerns raised by Justice Sinha Roy regarding the potential impact of granting bail to the influential figures in the case. Justice Banerjee’s ruling applies to all nine individuals, including the prominent government officials involved in the recruitment scandal. Justice Sinha Roy, however, emphasized that releasing these figures could influence the ongoing investigation and impede the legal process.

The matter now stands referred to Chief Justice T.S. Shivagnanam after the disagreement between the two judges. The Chief Justice will assign the case to a third bench, which will decide on the bail of Partha Chatterjee and the other accused. The four individuals granted bail by both judges, who are believed to have been intermediaries in the scam, will be released. The final decision on Partha Chatterjee's bail will depend on the verdict of the third bench, marking a significant step in the ongoing investigation.