Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday accused former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee of violating bail conditions in the multi-crore Staff Selection Commission (SSC) teachers recruitment case. The central probe agency alleged that Partha Chatterjee is failing to appear regularly at the CBI office as per his bail conditions. Consequently, the CBI has approached the special court at Bichar Bhavan in Kolkata regarding this matter.
Meanwhile, Partha’s lawyer highlighted his client’s health issues in the court, saying that the central agency had been emailed regarding the possibility of virtual appearances. Partha Chatterjee, the former State Education Minister and an accused in the teachers’ recruitment scam, was released on bail in November last year — three years, three months, and nineteen days after his arrest.
When granting bail in September 2025, the Calcutta High Court had imposed several conditions. One key condition was that he must appear before the investigating officer once a week. The High Court also said that the lower court could revoke Partha’s bail if it found any of the conditions had been violated. Against this backdrop, the CBI lodged a complaint against Partha Chatterjee in the special court on Thursday. However, the former Education Minister’s lawyer said that Partha Chatterjee is ill and occasionally requires hospitalisation. Partha’s lawyer also told the court that the CBI had been emailed regarding virtual appearances. The next hearing for the case is scheduled for September 29.
The High Court had granted Partha Chatterjee bail on a bond of Rs 10 lakh in connection with the CBI case. The conditions included depositing his passport with the lower court, not leaving the lower court’s jurisdiction without permission, appearing in court on every hearing date, refraining from intimidating witnesses or tampering with evidence, reporting to the investigating officer once a week, and not holding any government office. However, the former Education Minister may continue to function as an MLA (he held this position even while released on bail, though he did not receive a ticket to contest the recently concluded state Assembly election). He must not also engage in any criminal activity. He is also prohibited from contacting witnesses and is required to provide his mobile number to the lower court and the investigating agency and cannot change the number without their permission.” The former State Education Minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in July 2022 for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore SSC teacher recruitment scam.
On the day of Chatterjee’s arrest in 2022, the ED had unearthed Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of his close aide Arpita Mukherjee who was also arrested in the same case. Both were later arrested by the CBI over the same corruption case. Mukherjee was granted bail in 2024. In September last year, the Calcutta High Court granted bail to Partha Chatterjee. Despite the bail order, Partha Chatterjee could not be released immediately due to a Supreme Court directive which said that the former West Bengal Minister be released only after the trial court completes the examination of material witnesses within two months. He was finally released from judicial custody on November 11, 2025.