Fri Dec 13 07:01:06 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court Orders Speedy Trial, Bail for Ex-West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee

**New Delhi, [Date]** – The Supreme Court of India has ordered the release on bail of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee by February 1st, at the latest. Chatterjee, arrested in July 2022 on charges of money laundering related to an alleged teacher recruitment scam, will be released earlier if charges are framed and witness statements recorded before that date.

The ruling comes after Chatterjee’s appeal against denial of bail by the Calcutta High Court. His legal team argued that he had spent over two years in pre-trial detention, exceeding the potential sentence for the charges against him. The Supreme Court, having previously questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on low conviction rates in money laundering cases, emphasized that Chatterjee, as an undertrial accused, cannot be subjected to punitive detention.

The court directed the trial court to frame charges before the end of the year, specifically before the winter vacation begins on December 31st, 2024. The decision follows the ED’s filing of a chargesheet, but the delay in framing charges prompted the Supreme Court’s intervention. Chatterjee’s aide, Arpita Mukherjee, also implicated in the case, has already been granted bail. Chatterjee’s arrest led to his removal from his ministerial post and suspension from the Trinamool Congress party.

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