The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a report regarding its investigation into the arrest of former minister Sujit Bose. Bose was arrested on May 11 in connection with a municipality recruitment corruption case after being interrogated for over ten hours.
Background of the Case
Bose had approached the vacation bench of Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) challenging his arrest by the ED. His counsel argued that there was no 'predicate offence' in the matter, which is a prerequisite for ED action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier initiated a probe into the municipality recruitment scam following directions from the Calcutta High Court and subsequently filed a chargesheet. However, Bose's counsel claimed that the chargesheet does not mention his client anywhere.
Court's Directive
The court has now asked the ED to submit a detailed report on the progress of its probe. The next hearing is expected to take place after the report is filed. The development comes as a significant turn in the case, which has political ramifications in West Bengal.
