Bengal cash-for-job case: Calcutta HC grants conditional bail to Sujay Bhadra

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted conditional bail to Sujay Krishna Bhadra, the prime accused in the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had granted bail to him in the case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). However, Bhadra could not be released from the prison since CBI had also shown him as arrested by then.

However, with the Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Justice Apurba Sinha Roy granting him bail in the CBI-registered case, he will be out of bars soon.

While granting the interim bail, the division bench observed that the decision was on humanitarian grounds so that Bhadra could undergo proper treatment.

The division bench also observed that the medical reports suggest that Bhadra needs urgent treatment.

However, the interim bail decision comes with several restrictions.

The division bench directed CBI to keep a constant watch over Bhadra and also said that the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel could be used for that purpose.

There will be a bar on Bhadra from meeting any other person, including political persons, except those associated with his treatment process. At the same time, he should submit both his mobile numbers to CBI and be reachable.

The interim bail will be in force till the end of March this year. The next hearing on the matter will be on March 20.

Earlier this month, after three consecutive failed attempts the CBI sleuths ultimately managed to get the voice samples of Bhadra. Earlier, ED officials also collected his voice samples.

Heavyweight individuals, accused in the case, are former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, his close aide Arpita Mukherjee, and his son-in-law Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya.

Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, a trust named after Chatterjee's deceased wife is also named in the ED charge sheet as an accused entity. It is alleged that the ill-proceeds were shown as donations to this particular trust and thus diverted.