School jobs scam: High Court orders seizure of Manik’s properties for not paying Rs 5 lakh fine

The Calcutta High C0urt on Monday directed the Enforcement Directorate to confiscate all properties of Trinamool Congress MLA and former West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) president Manik Bhattacharya for failing to pay Rs 5 lakh as fine.

Bhattacharya is in judicial custody in the school jobs scam case in the state.
The single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered that Bhattacharya’s properties in the country and abroad be seized by the central investigation agency immediately. At the same time, the court said that Bhattacharya’s properties will remain seized until he pays the fine which was imposed to him by the same court on January 25.

The fine was imposed after a TET candidate approached the court seeking a copy of her optical mark recognition (OMR) sheet of written examination (in 2017) under the Right to Information (RTI) and deposited the required fees. But the WBBPE did not provide her with a copy of the OMR sheet. In that case, Justice Gangopadhyay imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh.

After hearing the matter on Monday, Justice Gangopadhyay observed that despite missing the deadline for payment of the penalty, neither Bhattacharya had taken any initiative to pay the same or informed the court about his inability to do so on this count.

The matter will be heard next on March 31.