State school jobs case: SC grants last chance to file responses to pleas challenging HC order

PTI, New Delhi, Jul 16 2024  : The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a last opportunity to file responses to pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal.

The pleas challenging the high court order also include the one filed by the West Bengal government.

The top court, which has been hearing 33 petitions pertaining to the high court's April 22 judgment on the matter, has fixed them for a final hearing after three weeks.

At the outset, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra were informed that the response affidavits have not been filed by many parties. The West Bengal government has also not filed its reply in cases where it is made a respondent.

"Alright, we will give them one opportunity... no counter (affidavit) filed till date. In the event that any of the respondents seek to file they shall file on or before two weeks, if no counter (affidavit) is filed then the right to file counter stands closed," the CJI said.

The bench also issued a slew of procedural directions and appointed four lawyers as nodal counsel while asking them to file a common compilation in electronic form after getting details from the lawyers of various parties.

It appointed lawyers Astha Sharma, who represents the state government, Shalini Kaul, Partha Chatterjee and Shekhar Kumar as nodal counsel.

"If we don't do this exercise it will be impossible to write down the judgement," the CJI said.

During the hearing, a lawyer sought a direction from the bench that the CBI be asked to place a status report on the probe conducted so far.

The top court on May 7 granted a major relief to teachers and non-teaching staff of West Bengal whose services were invalidated by the high court on the grounds of irregularities in the appointment process.

It, however, had permitted the CBI to continue with its probe and said it may even investigate members of the state cabinet if needed.

While granting the relief on the pleas, the bench had asked the CBI not to take any precipitative action like any arrest of any suspect during its investigation.

The top court, however, had made it clear that the teachers and non-teaching staff of the state, whose appointments were cancelled by the high court, would have to refund the salaries and other emoluments if it reached the conclusion that their recruitment was illegal.

It had said the issue which would merit closer analysis is whether taint appointments can be segregated. If it is possible then it would be wrong to set aside the entirety of the process, the Supreme Court bench had said.

The top court had also termed the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal as "systemic fraud" and said the state authorities were duty-bound to maintain the digitised records pertaining to the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.

"Public job is so scarce... Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today and are looked at for social mobility, it said.

"What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this," the CJI had asked the lawyers representing the state government.

Besides cancelling the appointments, the Calcutta High Court had also directed the CBI to probe into the appointment process and submit a report in three months.

Over 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the State Level Selection Test (SLST)-2016 for 24,640 vacant posts. A total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued against 24,640 vacancies.

The high court had instructed those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, appointed after the expiry of the official recruitment date, and those who submitted blank OMR sheets but obtained appointments to return all remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent per annum interest within four weeks.