NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court had last Friday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and sought a detailed response after hearing a petition filed by the TMC MLA, Manik Bhattacharya seeking bail in connection with his alleged involvement in the in the teachers' recruitment 'scam' case.
The jailed TMC leader, Bhattacharya had moved the Apex Court challenging the November 16 Calcutta High Court order rejecting his bail application.
On hearing Bhattacharya's plea, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma issued notice to the ED last Friday and sought its reply on the appeal filed by Bhattacharya.
On October 11, 2022, the ED arrested Bhattacharya following an extended night of questioning. Bhattacharya, a former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education was arrested by the ED on grounds of purportedly failing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The TMC (Trinamool Congress) Member of the Legislative Assembly, who represents the Palashipara seat in Nadia district in West Bengal, claimed innocence in the case.
It is to be noted that there are around at least eight FIRs have been filed at various stages of recruitment by the probe agencies. There have been irregularities in the recruitment of teachers at primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels and also in the recruitment of Group C and Group D employment in State-run schools.