WB Recruitment Scam| Corruption Is Reprehensible Crime & Assault On Faith Of Common People- Calcutta HC Upholds Order Of CBI Probe
|The Calcutta High Court has upheld the order of the Single Judge directing CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to probe the matter relating to the municipality recruitment scam in the State of West Bengal.
The Court said that corruption is a reprehensible crime in a society and that it is an assault on the faith of the common people upon officers and Ministers or people’s representatives.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee held, “Corruption is a reprehensible crime in a society and it is an assault on the faith of the common people upon officers and Ministers and people’s representatives. It defiles and degrades and shakes the confidence of the people at large upon the Government. It causes psychological harm to the society at large leaving upon it indelible marks. The allegations in the instant case are neither skirmishes nor bald, but speak of overt acts indicating complicity among the Ministers and high placed government officials. During investigation a mammoth amount of Rs. 111 crores and gold and jewellery valued at Rs. 5.08 crores had already been seized and attached.”
The Bench said that it is well known that a slight distinction in fact or an additional fact may make a lot of difference in the decision-making process.
Senior Advocates Kalyan Kumar Bandopadhyay and Jaydip Kar appeared on behalf of the appellant i.e., the State while Advocates Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Dhiraj Trivedi, and Billwadal Bhattacharya appeared on behalf of the writ petitioner, ED (Enforcement Directorate), and CBI respectively.
In this case, a legal issue came before the Division Bench as to whether the Single Judge had the jurisdiction to direct the CBI to carry on an investigation into the municipality recruitment scam while considering an application of ED in connection with a writ petition alleging illegalities perpetrated in a selection process conducted for the appointment to the posts of teachers in primary schools and in which the Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs was not even arrayed as a party respondent.
Earlier, an application was filed by the ED with a specific pleading that while investigating the teachers’ appointment scam, it came across the Municipality Recruitment Scam in the State which got intermingled on account of common agents and common beneficiaries. It was further prayed that a separate FIR for investigation of Municipality Recruitment Scam under the relevant provisions of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act by the predicate agency (meaning thereby CBI) would be required. The Single Judge in this regard directed a CBI probe into the same.
The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case noted, “Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs and School Education Department are departments under the State Government. State Government itself was impleaded as a party respondent in the appeal. Aggrieved by the order dated 21st April, 2023, State Government did not approach the Hon’ble Division Bench and filed SLP before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. ED is the sole competent authority to initiate proceedings under PMLA and in the SLPs the direction upon CBI to continue with the investigation was not interfered with.”
The Court observed that the discovery of corruption in recruitment by municipalities is unmistakably traced to the ongoing investigations into the teachers’ recruitment scam and therefore, given the similar nature of offence and involvement of common perpetrators, the Single Judge’s direction of CBI inquiry, into the alleged irregularities pertaining to appointments by municipalities, would ensure a logical conclusion to the ongoing investigations and serve the interest of justice
“A scam is a term that describes any fraudulent business or scheme that takes money or other goods from an unsuspecting person. It is a dishonest way to make money or to get an advantage by deceiving people. … It is our considered view overly technical arguments of procedural incongruity must be cast aside. In other words, a reticent approach by the Court for the purpose of satisfying every subtlety of interpretation ought to be discouraged. In the present case, the menace of corruption has accorded the undeserved with an unfair advantage over the deserved and deepened the societal chasm between haves and have-nots. This in turn, has precipitated widespread dejection and disillusionment among general masses”, said the Court.
The Court concluded that the collective suffering of those who have been wronged by the malevolent activities of morally debased individuals necessitates urgency in action and an uninterrupted and conclusive investigation into the connected schemes of corruption is the only means by which the perpetrators can be brought to justice.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal and refused to interfere with the order.
Cause Title- State of West Bengal v. Soumen Nandy & Others