Supreme Court upholds dismissal of 25,000 teachers in setback to Bengal
The case originated from allegations of irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission, in which 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 posts.
On Supreme Court upholding Calcutta HC order to cancel appointment of over 25,000 staff in West Bengal schools by SSC, Advocate Sudipto Das Gupta says,
"The Supreme Court made two observations: one highlighting institutional corruption and another stating that efforts made to cover it up...
While a review of SSC or the state is technically possible, it is unlikely to yield any results... Those who were eligible for recruitment years ago may no longer qualify and SSC and the Board have failed to present the necessary details..."
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Calcutta High Court's decision to terminate the appointments of as many as over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016 in connection with the school jobs for cash scam.
The bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar made strong observations regarding the selection process and said that since the appointments resulted from fraudulent practices, they amounted to cheating.
"We find no reason to interfere with the decision of the High Court that the services of tainted candidates and their appointment be terminated. Since their appointment was by fraud, this amounts to cheating," the bench noted.
However, the top court noted that the candidates already appointed need not hand over the salary given so far.
The infamous school jobs-for-cash scam revolves around alleged illegal recruitments in primary and secondary schools across West Bengal during the 2016 hiring process.
The High Court, citing serious irregularities such as OMR sheet tampering and rank manipulation, annulled the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools.
On May 7 last year, the Supreme Court put a hold on the High Court's order concerning these appointments by the state's School Service Commission (SSC) but allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to proceed with its probe in the matter.
The case originated from allegations of irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal SSC, in which 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 posts, yet 25,753 appointment letters were issued.
The High Court directed candidates who were appointed beyond the officially available vacancies, after the expiry of the recruitment period, or despite submitting blank OMR sheets, to return all salaries and benefits received, along with 12 per cent interest.
A total of 126 appeals, including one from the West Bengal government, were filed before the Supreme Court against the High Court's verdict.
Several high-profile figures, including former Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha, are in custody for their alleged involvement in the scam.
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