Supreme Court upholds cancellation of 25,000 Bengal school teachers' appointments
What's the story
In a major blow to the Mamata Banerjee government, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the Calcutta High Court's verdict to revoke 24,000 appointments made by its West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar affirmed that these appointments were tainted by manipulation and fraud, and said there is no need to interfere in the high court's decision.
Order
Tainted candidates must be terminated
"We have gone through the facts. Regarding the findings of this case, the entire selection process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud, and credibility and legitimacy are denuded. No reason to interfere," the bench said. "Tainted candidates must be terminated and appointments were resultant of cheating and thus fraud," the court said in its judgment.
New appointments
Court orders fresh selection process
The SC further directed that a fresh selection process be conducted within three months. However, it clarified that those already appointed can't be asked to return their salaries. "The fresh selection process can also have relaxations for untainted candidates," it said while upholding the HC order. "For candidates who have been specifically found to be tainted, their entire selection process has been rightly declared null and void due to egregious violations that violate Articles 14...16 of the Constitution," it said.
Scandal details
Background of the cash-for-jobs scandal
The cash-for-jobs scandal relates to illegal recruitments allegedly made in primary and secondary schools across West Bengal during the 2016 recruitment. Over 23 lakh candidates had appeared for exams for these vacancies. Later, allegations surfaced that many were given jobs after incorrectly evaluating their OMR sheets. In April 2024, the Calcutta HC canceled the appointment of these employees to state-aided schools due to lack of clarity on evaluated answer sheets.
Legal proceedings
Supreme Court hears 126 appeals against HC ruling
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was also directed by the high court to continue its investigation into the recruitment fraud. A total of 126 appeals, including one by the West Bengal government, were filed before the Supreme Court against the HC's ruling. The state's appeal alleged that the HC arbitrarily canceled appointments based on oral submissions and without any affidavit on record. It argued that the decision will create a huge vacuum in schools across West Bengal.