'How long?': SC slams ED for incarcerating ex-minister without trial
What's the story
The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the prolonged detention of former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee without trial.
Chatterjee has been in custody for more than two years in connection with a money laundering case allegedly involving bribery in the recruitment of Assistant Primary Teachers in West Bengal.
The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, was hearing the petition filed by Chatterjee seeking bail in the money laundering case.
Bail hearing
'How long can we keep him?': SC
During the hearing, Justice Kant asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED), "How long can we keep him? That is the question."
The court observed that Chatterjee's trial had not even started despite 183 witnesses being involved.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Chatterjee, contended that his client had been in jail since July 23, 2022, and was suffering from medical conditions at the age of 73.
Health concerns
Chatterjee's health and legal arguments presented in court
Rohatgi emphasized that Chatterjee had already completed over one-third of the maximum sentence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
He cited Section 479 of BNSS 2023, which permits bail to undertrials after one-third of their possible sentence.
The court was inclined to grant bail but adjourned the hearing to December 2 to obtain further details about Chatterjee's custody in related Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases.
Bail opposition
Opposition to bail plea and concerns over trial delay
Opposing the bail plea, Additional Solicitor General S V cited "rampant corruption" impacting over 50,000 candidates.
He contended that Chatterjee was influential and could tamper with witnesses if released.
But the bench expressed concern over the delay in the trial's commencement and remarked on the ED's poor conviction rate.
Justice Bhuyan said, "What is your conviction rate? If it is 60-70%, we can understand. But it is very poor."
Notice issued
SC's notice to ED and Chatterjee's political fallout
The Supreme Court had earlier sent a notice to the ED after Chatterjee appealed against an April 30 Calcutta High Court order denying him bail.
The ED claims to have recovered huge cash and assets in connection with illegal recruitments from properties belonging to Mukherjee.
After his arrest, Chatterjee was relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government and ousted from all party posts by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).