The West Bengal government on Wednesday notified the formation of a judicial commission to investigate allegations of institutional corruption and financial irregularities in various government departments during the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from 2011.
According to the notification issued by the Home and Hill Affairs Department, the commission will be headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu. It will also include a senior IPS officer, an IAS officer or a West Bengal Civil Service officer, and a West Bengal Revenue Service officer.
The notification stated that the commission will examine allegations of corruption that took place from 2011 to May 2026 in several government departments, including Education, Food and Supplies, Relief and Disaster Management, Municipal Affairs, Panchayats, Housing, Fisheries, Industry, Land, and Public Works. “There has been widespread public concern about incidents of institutional corruption,” it read.
The panel will look into allegations such as large-scale bribery, corruption in the distribution of Cyclone Amphan relief, misuse of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and irregularities in the midday meal scheme.
“In view of the gravity of the situation, it has been conveyed to the Governor that it is necessary to appoint an independent judicial commission of inquiry to look into and examine such instances of institutional corruption and financial irregularities across all departments that occurred throughout the State during the said period,” it stated.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had approved the formation of the panel during a State Cabinet meeting on May 18. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government after the recent Assembly election, hundreds of TMC leaders, including several MLAs, former Ministers, and councillors, have been arrested by the State police and other probe agencies for their alleged involvement in various cases of corruption and extortion.
The notification stated that the commission will submit periodic reports to the State government and recommend registration of FIRs by competent police authorities wherever it detects irregularities.
The commission has also been empowered to recover misappropriated funds, even by way of attachment of property, if it has reason to believe that such property was acquired by resorting to acts of omission and commission that resulted in institutional corruption, it added.
Published - July 16, 2026 01:47 am IST