CBI files final charges against ex-minister Partha Chatterjee, 20 others in jobs case

There is no documentary evidence against Partha Chatterjee. The charges are baseless, the former TMC secretary general said

KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed final charges against West Bengal’s former education minister Partha Chatterjee, ex-minister Paresh Adhikari and his daughter, along with 18 others, in a bribery-for-job case. The charges were filed at Kolkata’s Alipore court in connection with alleged irregularities in the appointment of class 11 and 12 teachers in state-run schools.

Kolkata: Partha Chatterjee (PTI)

“There is no documentary evidence against Partha Chatterjee. The charges are baseless,” the former Trinamool Congress secretary general’s lawyers told reporters on Thursday outside the court where the trial will take place.

Lawyer Shantanu Maitra, who represented Adhikari and his daughter Ankita, said: “Both are innocent. Adhikari was not even an MLA when his daughter was appointed.”

Chatterjee, Adhikari and Ankita asked the court to drop the charges but their petitions were turned down.

Except Chatterjee who is being treated at a hospital, the other accused appeared in person before the court so that the charges could be read out to them as per law. Chatterjee appeared virtually from the hospital.

“Chatterjee told the court that he was innocent and should be allowed to speak in his defence. He said he was kept in judicial custody for more than three years,” a lawyer who was present in court said.

ED arrested Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, on July 23, 2022. In its first charge sheet in September 2022, ED said it had traced cash, jewellery and immovable property worth ₹103.10 crore linked to the two. The charges mentioned many shell companies that Chatterjee allegedly formed to launder money.

The CBI submitted four charge sheets at the Alipore court in January 2024. Chatterjee was named in all four.