Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said every case against a politician is not malafide as it is very easy for them to indulge in corruption and then claim innocence.
Taking up a bail plea by former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee in a money laundering case linked to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam, the apex court also came down heavily upon the Enforcement Directorate over its poor conviction rate.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that Chatterjee has already been in custody for over two years, and the trial is yet to commence.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Chatterjee said, the petitioner has also also been arrested by the CBI last month and the timing is suspect as it came upon filing of the instant special leave petition.
"Every case is not malafide and it is very easy for politicians to indulge in corruption and then claim innocence," the bench said.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, contended it is a case of a high ranking minister involved in a case of life and livelihood of 50,000 people.
However, the bench criticised ED for its poor conviction rate and asked if he is not convicted then what will happen, and who will pay for the time he had spent in custody. "Had the conviction rate has been 60 or 70 %, we would have understood," the bench said.
During the hearing, the court noted that money has been recovered in the case and it is not that every case is malafide.
Combo image shows cash and jewellery recovered by ED officials from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee.
PTI
As Rohatgi questioned delay in arrest by the CBI, the bench said, “If the CBI had registered the case and arrested on the very day, then you say look at the tearing hurry. They had already made up their mind to do”.
Rohatgi said the CBI registered the case in the matter on June 9, 2022, and the central agency arrested Chatterjee on October 1, 2024.
“They must have taken you in custody from ED for the purpose of interrogation,” the bench said.
As Raju said he was representing the ED not the CBI, the bench which at one time, proposed to release the petitioner on interim bail, scheduled the matter for consideration on Monday.
At the beginning, Rohatgi said the petitioner was arrested on July 23, 2022 by the ED, the trial is yet to start, there are 183 witnesses, four supplementary prosecution complaints have been filed. The petitioner is 73 years of age, he was a minister in charge in jobs of cash scam case, while all other accused had been granted bail, the counsel said.
He has undergone 2.5 years more than one third of maximum sentence of seven years under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the counsel said.
"Every individual granted bail. Lady from whose house money was recovered was granted bail by the trial court," he said.
The bench observed that he was a minister and was not going to keep money at his residence.
The bench asked Raju, “Apply general principle, for how long can we keep him. If it were to be a case where a trial is near completion, all right we will say complete within three months’ or six months’ we will continue. It is a case where two years and four months’ have gone and trial is yet to commence ... .trial will take time…some of the witnesses are victims, some of them are beneficiaries, some innocent. It is a Herculean task.”
The bench also said the court cannot ignore the serious allegations that a minister is taking bribes, cash recovered from a factory or close associates.
"But we have to strike a balance. Two years’ and four months’ (in custody) is not a small period,” the bench said.
Chatterjee was arrested for his alleged involvement in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam and has since been charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. After his arrest, he was relieved of his ministerial duties, and all posts in Trinamool Congress (TMC).