In a significant development in the long-running West Bengal school job scam case, former state minister and key accused Partha Chatterjee was released on bail on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Chatterjee, a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, had been in custody for over three years after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Core of the WBSSC Scam
The alleged corruption scandal revolves around the 2016 recruitment drive conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The state government had advertised 24,640 vacant posts for state-run and aided schools, attracting a massive pool of 23 lakh applicants. However, the scam came to light when the government inexplicably issued appointment orders for 25,753 candidates, a number significantly higher than the positions originally advertised.
This discrepancy triggered legal challenges, leading the Calcutta High Court to intervene. In November 2021, the court directed the CBI to investigate the matter. The TMC government's appeal against this order was dismissed by a Division Bench, paving the way for a full-fledged probe starting in 2022.
A Web of Arrests and Investigations
The investigation unveiled a complex network of alleged corruption. Partha Chatterjee faces serious charges, including accepting bribes from ineligible candidates, conspiring with WBSSC officials, manipulating OMR sheets to alter merit lists, and appointing dummy directors in shell companies to launder the purported "ill-gotten" wealth.
The probe led to a series of high-profile arrests:
- July 2022: ED arrests Partha Chatterjee. Raids on his alleged aide, Arpita Mukherjee, yield huge cash and jewellery; she is also arrested.
- August 2022: Arrest of Shanti Prasad Sinha and Ashok Saha, key figures in the commission.
- October 2022: Arrest of TMC MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha, along with youth leaders Kuntal Ghosh and Shantanu Bandyopadhyay.
- April 2023: Arrest of Jiban Krishna Saha in a separate ED case.
- May 2023: Arrest of TMC leader Sujay Krishna Bhadra and interrogation of TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Legal Wrangling and the Supreme Court's Intervention
The legal battle reached its zenith in the Supreme Court. The Calcutta High Court had declared the WBSSC results "null and void" on April 22, 2024. While the apex court initially stayed the CBI probe, it refused to stay the cancellation of the exams.
The court delivered sharp criticism, with then Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud emphasizing the erosion of public faith, stating, "Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes… What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned?" The court also rebuked authorities for creating supernumerary posts and for poor record-keeping.
Ultimately, in April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of annulling the tainted recruitment process and ordered a fresh examination. Following this, the WBSSC announced a schedule to fill 25,726 posts of assistant teachers, though the exam is yet to be conducted.
Current Status: Who is Out on Bail?
The bail landscape in the case has shifted significantly. While Partha Chatterjee is the latest to walk out of jail, he is not alone.
- Manik Bhattacharya was granted bail by the Calcutta High Court in September 2024.
- Jiban Krishna Saha received bail from the Supreme Court in May 2024 but remains incarcerated due to his arrest in the ED case.
- Arpita Mukherjee, Shantanu Bandopadhyay, and Kuntal Ghosh have been out on bail since November 2024.
- Sujay Krishna Bhadra's interim bail, granted in February 2025, has been extended.
- However, Shanti Prasad Sinha remains behind bars.
As the judicial process continues, the case remains a focal point in Bengal's political arena, with thousands of job aspirants awaiting a fair and transparent recruitment process.
