Kolkata, Oct 16 — Former West Bengal Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier this year in a money laundering case, has now approached the Supreme Court challenging the ruling by a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court last week, rejecting his bail plea.
However, since the hearing in the matter at the apex court will be only after the vacation on the occasion of Durga Puja, the former minister will have to spend his Durga Puja days behind bars.
On October 13, Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh rejected his bail plea and also dismissed the argument of his counsel that his client had been kept in judicial custody unnecessarily, with the central investigating agency being unable to substantiate its charges against Bose so far.
Bose had been the main patron behind the community Durga Puja organised by Sreebhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.
Following the rejection of his bail now, he will not be able to participate in that Puja this year, the entire planning of which was done by him till last year.
In August this year, another single-judge Bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh recused herself from passing a verdict on the bail petition of Bose, though the hearing was concluded at her Bench earlier.
According to her, one of the counsels of the former minister came to her chamber when she was not there and asked her personal secretary to hand over a case-related file from her chamber.
Justice Suvra Ghosh also said that the entire development was extremely unfortunate, and hence she had informed the matter to the then Calcutta High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty.
Thereafter, she announced her decision to recuse herself from the case.
Thereafter, the matter was referred to the Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, and on October 13 he rejected Bose’s bail plea.
Bose was arrested by the ED officials on May 11 this year. He was accused of illegally recommending the names of job seekers in the South Dum Dum Municipality.