The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ordered the release of former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education president Kalyanmoy Ganguly, granting him bail in the School Service Commission recruitment corruption case investigated by the CBI.
The decision comes after more than three years of his custody in the matter and follows the bail granted earlier in the parallel Enforcement Directorate case.
Ganguly’s lawyers told the court that he had remained in custody for over three years while every other accused in the case had already secured bail from different courts.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh heard submissions from both sides before allowing the plea for bail.
The CBI opposed Ganguly’s bail application. The agency argued that the deposition of witnesses was nearing completion and that releasing the former board president at this stage would be inappropriate.
Deputy Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi submitted that two remaining witnesses in the case are deemed vulnerable and that there were materials against the petitioner that supported the prosecution’s stance.
Senior advocate Sandipan Ganguly, who appeared for the applicant, informed the court that eight vulnerable witnesses had already been examined by the trial court. He contended that there was no justification for further detention.
Justice Ghosh held that continued custody of the petitioner was unwarranted after considering the submissions from both sides.
The court noted that all other accused, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, had already secured bail in the CBI case relating to alleged irregularities in school recruitment in government run and government aided institutions in West Bengal.
The High Court directed that the conditions of Ganguly’s release will be determined by the special CBI court where the trial is currently underway.