The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in the alleged recruitment scam after Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused himself from the case.
As soon as the matter came up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, Justice Bagchi, who had come from Calcutta High Court, expressed his disinclination to hear the matter.
The judge did not give any reason for the recusal. Normally, judges do not indicate the reason for such recusal, although it is commonly understood that such a step is taken to avoid criticism of any possible “conflict of interest”.
“List these matters before a bench of which one of (Joymalya Bagchi, J) is not a member after obtaining necessary orders from Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,” Justice Surya Kant said while dictating the brief order.
The present matter came up for hearing on Thursday after the February 21 notice issued by the court to the CBI on Chatterjee’s bail plea.
Chatterjee, who is facing a parallel probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the Enforcement Directorate, had been enlarged on bail by the Supreme Court on December 13, 2024, after noting that he was under incarceration for over two years.
Though granted bail in the ED-related case, Chatterjee, who continued to be in prison in the CBI case, had approached the top court for bail so that he could come out of jail.
He has been in jail for almost three years.