The high court on Friday granted bail to Shanti Prasad Sinha, former chairman of the advisory committee of the school service commission (SSC), who was arrested in 2022 in connection with the alleged cash-for-jobs scam by the CBI and the ED.

Justice Jay Sengupta granted him bail on a bail bond of ₹5 lakh in a case involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED)

Sinha got bail in a case involving the CBI in 2024.

But he had to remain in prison because the bail in the ED case was pending.

The conditions that Sinha has been slapped with say he cannot leave his place of stay, the passports have to be deposited with police, and he has to submit his contact numbers to the CBI and the court.

Sinha has been barred from establishing any contact with the witnesses and tampering with evidence.

The court granted Sinha bail despite objection form the ED’s lawyer.

“Chances of tampering with the evidence are high if the accused is granted bail,” Dhiraj Trivedi, the ED’s lawyer told the court.

The CBI on August 10, 2022, arrested Sinha in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of Group C staff for government-aided schools by issuing fake recommendation letters for unsuccessful candidates.

In April 2024, the ED took him into custody to probe the money trail in the alleged irregularities in recruitment in schools.

Investigations suggested that recommendation letters for candidates were generated outside the commission’s office at the instance of
Sinha, bypassing the SSC chairman.