Relief for Bengal govt: SC stays Calcutta HC order directing CBI probe in teacher recruitment scam

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Calcutta high court's order terminating the appointment of 25,000 teachers recruited "illegally.

TOI, 29 April 2024, NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Calcutta high court's order terminating the appointment of 25,000 teachers recruited illegally in West Bengal. 

However, assuaging the state government's fear that the entire cabinet may be arrested over the case, the SC stayed a part of the HC's order that had asked the CBI to probe all officials involved in the recruitment of the teachers. 

The SC expressed serious concern about agency which conducted the recruitment test, destruction of OMR answer sheets, erasing of software about results and inclusion of people who were not part of the selection panel. "You have to satisfy us how the high court went wrong," the CJI said.

SC posted the next hearing for May 6.

In an order passed last week, the Calcutta high court nullified the appointment of all the 25,753 teachers empanelled in 2016 for various categories of jobs at secondary and higher secondary schools in the state.

>A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi of the high court ordered that the candidates selected will have to return the entire salary drawn by them, along with an annualised interest of 12 per cent, within the next four weeks.

Besides directing the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to start the recruitment process afresh, it also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carry on with its investigation into the matter.

Taking cognisance of the state cabinet's decision for the creation of super-numeric posts, the Calcutta high court said that the CBI, if necessary, can question the masterminds behind the creation of the seats in excess of the vacant posts. These super-numeric posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally.