2024 INSC 975
Page | 1
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 5266 OF 2024
(Arising out of SLP (CRL.) No. 13870 OF 2024)
Partha Chatterjee ….Appellant
versus
Directorate of Enforcement .…Respondents
ORDER
Leave granted.
2. The Appellant has been a Member of the West Bengal Legislative
Assembly since 2001, and was a member of the ruling party of the
State at the relevant time. He was inducted as a Minister in the West
Bengal State cabinet between 2011 and 2022 and seems to have held
the post of the State Education Minister since 2016. During his
tenure as the State Education Minister, recruitments to various
posts like: (i) Primary School Teachers; (ii) Assistant School
Teachers; (iii) Group C staff; and (iv) Group D staff, took place from
time to time.
Page | 2
3. Writ petitions were filed before the High Court of Calcutta (High
Court), questioning the legitimacy of the procedures followed in the
aforementioned recruitments. Most pertinently, proceedings were
initiated by unsuccessful candidates in the Teachers Eligibility Test
(TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education,
vide WPA No. 9979/2022, alleging corrupt practices in the
recruitment process of Primary School Teachers. In the light of
serious allegations having been made, the High Court on 08.06.2022
directed t...