SC junks West Bengal plea against CBI probe in municipality recruitment scam

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the court is satisfied that a link appears between the teachers’ recruitment scam, which is under investigation by CBI and ED, and the municipality recruitment scam. -- Reports ETV Bharat's Sumit Saxena.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court Monday junked a plea by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court order transferring the investigation into the West Bengal municipality recruitment scam case to the CBI.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the court is satisfied that a link appears between the teachers’ recruitment scam, which is under investigation by CBI and ED, and the municipality recruitment scam.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, vehemently argued that the high court erred in transferring the matter to the CBI as there was no material to establish that the state government cannot investigate the scam. The Chief Justice observed that the situation would have been different if the municipality scam were to be unrelated to the teachers' recruitment scam, however, the court is satisfied they are linked and told Sibal that the court is not willing to entertain the West Bengal petition.

The bench also declined to entertain the contention that there was not sufficient material before the high court to transfer the probe to the central agency. The bench noted that it is clear that the municipal recruitment and teachers’ recruitment scam is linked since the same person had prepared the OMR sheets. "There was some wrongdoing…. this is the status report on which the single judge has relied," noted the bench.

Sibal asked: In which another state, it is happening like that?" The ED, he said, has no jurisdiction in this matter and it has now become a roving enquiry. Additional solicitor general SV Raju, appearing for the ED, submitted that it seems there is a "larger conspiracy" in the matter and claimed that there is evidence that the two scams are linked and one company was appointed to print OMR sheets for 2 exams.

Raju submitted that during the investigation of the teachers’ recruitment scam, ED came across information regarding the municipality recruitment scam therefore, an application was filed before the Calcutta High Court. Raju said after the high court order, the CBI has registered an FIR and the investigation is in progress.

Sibal stressed that the high court solely relied upon the status report for the purpose of the order and it will set a wrong precedent if the state machinery is bypassed and it might happen in other states too. After a detailed hearing in the matter, the top court declined to entertain the West Bengal petition against the high court order.