The Calcutta high court on Thursday said that TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the school jobs-for-bribes scam case, can be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation and such "interrogation should be made soon."
Hearing a petition relating to alleged irregularities in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said that Ghosh could be questioned soon by the central agencies along with Banerjee,
"Here I take note of one public meeting held by one Abhishek Banerjee on March 29, 2023 where he urged some persons to support him by saying that when those persons were in custody, police or the interrogating agencies pressurised them to name said Abhishek Banerjee," the judge said.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had addressed a public meeting in Kolkata on March 29.
Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the school jobs scam case and in custody currently, had also soon after alleged that he was being pressured by investigators to take the name of Banerjee, TMC's unofficial number two.
Holding that the complaint by Ghosh was made on March 31 before the special CBI court and on April 1 to Hastings police station in Kolkata in close proximity with the said public speech of Banerjee on March 29, Justice Gangopadhyay said that the matter requires to be investigated.
"It is a matter to be enquired and investigated whether Kuntal Ghosh took the queue from the public speech of said Abhishek Banerjee for which both of them can be interrogated both by ED and by CBI and such interrogation should be made soon," the judge said.
Maintaining that "terrorising" investigating officers of the probe agency by filing complaint before the police is wholly unwarranted, Justice Gangopadhyay observed that such endeavours are to be stopped forthwith as otherwise officers will not be able to act in a fearless manner.
The judge said that Ghosh had not complained of any torture by CBI or ED officers immediately after his custody with the two agencies ended and when he was sent to judicial remand, but did so in the complaints of March 31 and April 1.
Ghosh was in ED custody after his arrest by the agency till February 2, and was in CBI custody from February 20 to 23.
Justice Gangopadhyay said that if the money trail from the teaching jobs scam is considered a human body, then the CBI and ED have reached maximum up to the waist of the body in this investigation and the heart and the head are yet to be touched.
He expressed hope that the agencies will be able to do so.
"From today no police station will lodge any FIR against any complaint made to it in respect of any officer of CBI and ED who are investigating the educational recruitment scam both of West Bengal Central School Service Commission and the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, without the leave of this court," the court directed.
It directed that Ghosh's letters filed before the CBI court and sent to the Hastings police station will not be given effect to in any manner whatsoever until further order of this court.
ED and CBI were directed to file a report of their investigation into this matter, if necessary, with the video recordings, before this court on April 20, when this matter will be taken up again for hearing.
"All the aspects which have been indicated above including the public speech of one Abhishek Banerjee, should also not be outside the investigation of CBI and if necessary, by ED," Justice Gangopadhyay directed.
Later in the evening while addressing a press conference, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh alleged that a section of the judiciary is “not behaving as per law".
"I have immense respect for the judiciary. The TMC as a party has immense respect for the judiciary, too," Ghosh said.
He, however, also alleged, “But, unfortunately a section of the judiciary at the Calcutta high court is not behaving as per law.”
Reacting to Ghosh's statement, Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said the outburst of the TMC is quite natural as "the cat is now out of the bag".
"Several TMC leaders are being arrested in corruption cases. And, whoever speaks out against the corruption of TMC is wrong, be it the governor or the judiciary. This proves they have no respect for the judiciary,” Ghosh said.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya prayed before the court that a forensic examination of the letter be ordered.
