West Bengal: SC grants bail to ex-TMC leader Kuntal Ghosh in CBI case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted regular bail to former Trinamool Congress youth leader Kuntal Ghosh in a CBI case linked to the West Bengal primary school recruitment scam.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said it is not likely that the trial will be completed in the foreseeable near future in the case where Ghosh has been in custody for the past 19 months.

Advocate MS Khan, appearing for Ghosh, submitted two orders of the trial court to buttress his argument that the trial will not be completed in the near future as the CBI is yet to file the final charge sheet in the case.

The bench granted bail to Ghosh and asked him to not leave West Bengal without prior permission of the court or the investigating agency.

It said Ghosh will also not hold any public post and will not give any statements in the media related to the merit of the investigation.

On November 20, the Calcutta High Court granted conditional bail to Ghosh, one of the prime accused in an Enforcement Directorate case connected to the school recruitment scam.

Ghosh was arrested by the ED on January 21, 2023 in the money laundering case and subsequently on February 20, 2023 by the CBI in the corruption case related to the West Bengal primary school recruitment scam.