School job scam: Supreme Court reserves judgment on Partha's bail plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee in connection with the money laundering case linked to the alleged cash-for-school-job scam case.

- AGENCIES

A Bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant, reserved its decision after hearing the oral arguments of senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, appearing on Chatterjee's behalf and additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Rohtagi contended that the former minister had been under custody for over two years and there was no likelihood of early completion of the trial. The senior counsel added that the other co-accused have been granted bail in connection with the money laundering case.

At this, Justice Kant-led Bench said, "You cannot claim parity here. Everybody was not the minister." It added that proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 28 crore were recovered from the industrial premises belonging to Chatterjee.

When Rohtagi refuted the fact of recovery, saying that the property was not owned by Chatterjee, this drew an uninvited observation from Justice Kant. "On the face of it, you are a corrupt person! What message do you want us to send to society? That corrupt person can get bail like this?" remarked Justice Kant-led Bench.

It added, "After judicial intervention and central agency probe all of this was uncovered. The amount recovered is not something people keep in their residences like this. The only thing we need to examine is if your release will impact the trial or witnesses."