'ED's conviction rate very poor', says SC in Partha Chatterjee bail plea

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court had questioned the 'quality of prosecution and evidence' garnered in cases related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, by the Directorate of Enforcement

Hearing the bail petition of Trinamool Congress leader and former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday expressed concerns over the low conviction rate of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). “What is your conviction rate? If it is 60-70 per cent, we can understand. But it is very poor,” remarked Justice Ujjal Bhuyan during the proceedings.

 

The top court’s observation came while hearing the bail petition of Partha Chatterjee in a money laundering case linked to bribery allegations in the recruitment of Assistant Primary Teachers in West Bengal. The Court also raised concerns about the prolonged custody of an accused without trial.

 

 

“How long can we keep him? That is the question. Here is a case where more than 2 years have gone. How to strike a balance in such a case?” Justice Surya Kant asked the agency. “If ultimately he is not convicted, what will happen? Waiting for 2.5-3 years is not a small period!” the Court said, as reported by Live Law.

 

SC questions ED’s low conviction rate 

In August this year, the SC had flagged the low conviction rate in money laundering cases filed by the ED. Referring to a statement made in the Parliament that “5,000-odd cases were registered (under PMLA) and conviction was obtained only in 40 cases in 10 years.” the Court questioned the ‘quality of prosecution and evidence’ garnered in cases related to Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

 

Split verdict by Calcutta HC in Partha Chatterjee case 

Earlier on November 20, a two-judge division bench of the Calcutta High Court delivered a split verdict on the bail application of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in a case filed by the CBI. While Justice Arijit Banerjee approved Chatterjee’s bail, Justice Apurba Sinha Roy opposed it citing his ‘influential status’.

 

During the hearing, Justice Banerjee also emphasised the long custodial detention of Chatterjee and drew attention to the excessive delay in the trial proceedings.

 

West Bengal teachers recruitment scam 

Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee’s case can be traced to 2014, when West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) announced a State Level Selection Test (SLST) to recruit teachers for government-run schools. The recruitment process began in 2016, but was later challenged in the Calcutta High Court against alleged irregularities. Petitioners claimed that many candidates with lower grades were placed higher on merit list of the recruitment list.

 

Another recruitment scam investigated 

In 2016, the West Bengal government directed the state School Service Commission to hire 13,000 Group-D employees, for government-run and government-aided schools. The panel tasked with making these appointments expired in 2019. A petition was filed which alleged that over 500 people were appointed after the panel expired.

 

Later on the order of the Calcutta High Court, an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation was launched. The CBI FIR claimed that in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) 2014, incorrect questions and answer keys were used to exclude eligible candidates. The ED later started a parallel investigation into alleged money laundering links to the scam.

 

Alleged role of Partha Chatterjee in scam 

It’s alleged that while serving as the education minister, Partha Chatterjee was actively involved in the scam. Following his arrest by the ED in 2022, the agency recovered around Rs 50 crore in cash, gold ornaments and foreign currencies from apartments owned by his close associate Arpita Muhkerjee. Subsequently, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress suspended him from the party and removed him from all the party posts.

 

His latest bail hearing has been adjourned till 2 December 2024, to get more details about the custody undergone by him in the connected CBI case.