Supreme Court Seeks Response on Partha Chatterjee’s Bail Plea in Recruitment Scam
The Supreme Court of India has asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to the bail plea of Partha Chatterjee, the former West Bengal education minister and MLA. Chatterjee is involved in a cash-for-jobs recruitment scam.
A bench of justices, Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, requested the ED to file a reply regarding Chatterjee’s bail plea. In July 2022, the ED arrested Chatterjee in connection with the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) teacher recruitment scam. He was previously lodged at the Presidency Correctional Home in May this year.
The ED had earlier recovered over Rs 21 crore cash from the house of an associate of Chatterjee. Following his arrest, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) suspended Chatterjee and removed him from all party posts.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court directed the CBI to investigate the recruitment scam involving Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ staff, assistant teachers of classes IX-XII, and primary teachers. The ED is investigating the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Doubts Revealed
Supreme Court -: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India. It makes the final decisions on important legal matters.
Partha Chatterjee -: Partha Chatterjee is a politician who was the education minister of West Bengal. He is involved in a legal case about a recruitment scam.
Bail Plea -: A bail plea is a request made by someone in jail to be released while their case is still being decided in court.
Recruitment Scam -: A recruitment scam is when people use unfair or illegal methods to get jobs or give jobs to others, often involving money.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) -: The Enforcement Directorate is a government agency in India that investigates financial crimes like money laundering.
Rs 21 crore -: Rs 21 crore is a large amount of money in Indian currency, equivalent to 210 million rupees.
Calcutta High Court -: The Calcutta High Court is a major court in the state of West Bengal. It handles important legal cases in that region.
CBI -: CBI stands for Central Bureau of Investigation. It is India’s top agency for investigating serious crimes.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 -: This is a law in India that helps prevent and punish money laundering, which is hiding money made from illegal activities.
