Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) of India, Billawadal Bhattacharyya, who was appointed by the Calcutta High Court to conduct an inspection of a school following the suspension of its affiliation, has made allegations of attempted bribery by school officials. This development occurred in the case of Swarup Poddar & Ors V Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations & Ors.
DSG Bhattacharyya had been designated as a special officer to assess St. Augustine’s Day School in Kolkata after the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) suspended its affiliation. During proceedings in court, he reported that there had been an effort to offer him a bribe in relation to this matter. In response, Justice Biswajit Basu cautioned that he would take legal action against those individuals involved in this attempted bribery.
Justice Basu stated, "I will initiate criminal proceedings against those persons."
Previously, 76 students from Class X of the school had approached the court due to the school's inability to register them with the CISCE following the suspension of its affiliation. On September 13, the court had reprimanded the school for continuing to collect registration fees from students even after the discontinuation of its affiliation in September 2022.
Taking note of the fact that there were three hundred students in Class X at the school, the court had appointed DSG Bhattacharyya to visit the school and ascertain the exact number and details of bona fide Class X students.
During the recent court hearing, DSG Bhattacharyya informed the court about his visit to the school and revealed the attempts to influence him. When the court inquired whether the attempt was made by the school, Bhattacharyya responded, "It must be... despite the fact that lawyers are not available for purchase."
The court remarked, "That indicates they have something to conceal."
Bhattacharyya agreed and stated that he had not even consumed a drop of water from the school premises. He added, "That is why I was extremely cautious; I did not accept even a drop of water from 4:45 PM until 9:00 PM when I left."
The court instructed Bhattacharyya to provide the names of the individuals who approached him and to place this information in a sealed envelope. DSG Bhattacharyya mentioned that he had saved screenshots of the phone calls he had received.
Justice Basu emphasized, "He approached the court with an attempt to bribe. Therefore, one must face the consequences."
At this point, Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who had been representing the school, sought permission to withdraw from the case after being informed by the court about the school's attempted bribery of the special officer.
Following an eventful hearing that lasted nearly two hours, the court instructed the counsel representing the petitioners to present relevant documents to the special officer, demonstrating the legitimacy of the students as bona fide attendees of the school.
The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for October 4.
Representing the petitioners in court were Senior Advocate Kalyan Kumar Bandyopadhyay, along with Advocates Promiti Bandopadhyay and Rahul Kumar Singh. Advocate Sanjay Kumar Baid appeared on behalf of the CISCE. Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, along with Advocates Chama Mookherji, Debjit Mukherjee, and Anujit Mookherjee, represented St. Augustine’s Day School.
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TAGS: Keywords: Deputy Solicitor General Bribery Attempt Kolkata School Affiliation Suspension Court Proceedings.
