West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced that central investigating agencies will no longer require state government clearance to file chargesheets against officials allegedly involved in corruption cases.
Speaking at a virtual press conference from the state secretariat Nabanna, he said the state government had cleared the way for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to initiate judicial proceedings against officials accused in multiple corruption cases, including recruitment irregularities in schools, municipal services and the cooperation department.
Adhikari said the government would follow a strict “zero-tolerance” approach towards corruption and act against those involved in irregularities.
He alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee had delayed permissions for the CBI in four corruption cases involving senior officials across departments for nearly four years.
“The CBI or any court-appointed investigating agency used to require concerned state’s approval before framing chargesheets against those officials, who are involved in corruptions, so that they face punishment in the court of law. But the previous government had withheld the approvals to save the corrupt officials,” Adhikari told reporters.
“Today, we gave clearance to the CBI to take steps against these corrupt officials. The CBI might have already received a copy of the approval letter,” he added.
He further said, “The previous government had blocked four CBI cases for the last four years. Under the law, the CBI or an investigating agency requires sanction from the state government to file charge sheets, prosecutions, or initiate action against government officials accused of corruption,” alleging that approvals were withheld to protect bureaucrats.
Adhikari said the approvals relate to cases involving alleged irregularities in teacher and non-teacher recruitment in state-run and aided schools, municipal recruitment scams, and cooperative department-related investigations monitored by courts. He noted that appointments of around 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff had been invalidated following a Supreme Court directive in April 2025.
He said the move reflected the new government’s commitment to its poll promise of tackling corruption and added that further such actions would follow in the coming days.
