Trinamool MLA Manik Bhattacharya gets bail

A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to Trinamool Congress legislator and the former president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (ED), who was serving judicial custody after being arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October 2022 in connection with the cash-for- school job case in state-run schools. 

However, while granting the bail plea the single judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh set four conditions for the same.

The first condition will be that Bhattacharya will have to submit his passport to a lower court immediately. Secondly, he will submit his mobile number to the investigating officers concerned so that the latter are able to contact him whenever necessary for questioning.

At the same time, Bhattacharya should not make any attempt to contact, influence or threaten any witnesses in this case. Finally, without the permission of the investigating officials, he will not be able to leave the city.

Earlier when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started an investigation into the school job case, Bhattacharya managed to get protection from any coercive action, including arrest against him by CBI.

However, later ED officials started investigating the money-laundering angle in the case and arrested Bhattacharya in October 2022. His wife Satarupa Bhattacharya and son Souvik Bhattacharya were also arrested by ED then and both of them served judicial custody at that time.

However, after some point in time both his son and wife were granted bail. While the bail for his wife was granted by the Calcutta High Court, the same for his son was granted by the Supreme Court. Manik Bhattacharya’s bail plea was rejected again and again and finally, it was granted on Thursday.

Bhattacharya was the second heavyweight leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress, after the former State Education Minister and party secretary general Partha Chatterjee, to be arrested in the school job case. Chatterjee continues to serve his judicial custody at Presidency Central Correctional Home in central Kolkata.