On Friday the Supreme Court of India granted bail to Souvik Bhattacharya, the son of Trinamool Congress State legislator Manik Bhattacharya, in connection with a money laundering case linked to the West Bengal primary school teachers recruitment scam.

The decision came from a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, who noted a "total non-application of mind" by the special CBI court, which had issued summons to Bhattacharya without a summoning order. Consequently, the Supreme Court intervened and granted relief to the accused.

However, the Court's order also highlighted that Bhattacharya can approach the trial court for further remedies, with all contentions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) left open for consideration. The ED had been investigating the money laundering aspect of the case.

This development follows a previous rejection of Bhattacharya's bail plea by the trial court, a decision that was upheld by the Calcutta High Court. Subsequently, Bhattacharya appealed to the apex court, leading to the recent decision in his favor.

During the proceedings, the Supreme Court also raised broader issues concerning legal practice in India. It noted a need for the establishment of institutes to train advocates before they begin their practice, similar to judicial academies for judges. The bench observed that in many countries, it is standard practice for lawyers to obtain certificates from such training academies before practicing law.

This observation stemmed from the Court's noticing of certain lapses by the lawyers representing Bhattacharya at the trial court stage. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for Bhattacharya, while Additional Solicitor General SV Raju represented the Enforcement Directorate.