The Supreme Court noted on Wednesday that the trial against former West Bengal Education Minister and MLA Partha Chatterjee was yet to start and hundreds of witnesses were to be examined in the money laundering case related to irregularities in recruitment of primary teachers.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the trial, which will take time, is yet to commence and hundreds of witnesses need to be examined.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Chatterjee, informed the top court that his client was in jail for nearly 2.5 years, 183 witnesses are in the case and the trial is yet to start. He also referred to his age and said that he is 73 years old.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, opposed Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea in the case and said that charges are serious in nature. A huge amount of cash was seized, he added.
The apex court took into account that the allegations were serious and sought to know the status of the investigation. ASG Raju said that a chargesheet has been filed in the case. The top court also noted the low conviction rate in money laundering cases.
The top court was also informed that Chatterjee was under judicial custody in another case being probed by the CBI.
The Supreme Court adjourned the matter for December 2 and sought to know the period of judicial custody and police custody undergone by Chatterjee. The top court asked ASG Raju to take instructions on whether Chatterjee was arrested for the second time by the CBI.
The top court was hearing Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea in a case related to cash-for-jobs recruitment irregularities.