Calcutta HC deals heavy blow to Mamata
Declares recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff null and void
The Calcutta High Court today dealt a significant blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal by declaring the recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff of government-sponsored and aided schools null and void.
The recruitment process was marred by bribery charges, and the court ordered the cancellation of all appointments made through it eight years ago.
A division bench comprising justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to undertake further investigation into the appointment process and submit a report in three months.
The bench also directed the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) to initiate a fresh recruitment process.
Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the recruitment test in 2016 for 24,640 vacant posts. A total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued against the vacancies, said Firdaus Shamim, a lawyer for some of the petitioners.
The division bench also rejected a prayer by some appellants for a stay on the order.
West Bengal School Service Commission Chairman Siddharth Majumder said the commission will appeal in the Supreme Court, challenging the high court verdict.
Moments after the high court order, hundreds of school job aspirants waiting outside its premises rejoiced, as many broke into tears. "We had been waiting for this day. After years of struggle on the streets, justice has finally been delivered," one of them said.
The division bench, formed by the chief justice of the High Court on a direction of the Supreme Court, had extensively heard numerous petitions and appeals relating to the selection of candidates for appointment by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 and group-C and D staffers through the SLST-2016.
Terming the Calcutta High Court order to cancel all appointments made through the recruitment process, an "appropriate judgment", former judge of the court Abhijit Gangopadhyay demanded "immediate resignation" of Mamata Banerjee.
It was justice Gangopadhyay whose single bench ordered in 2022 a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the recruitment.
Earlier this year, Justice Gangopadhyay resigned from the judiciary, and joined the BJP. He is the party's candidate in Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency.
The CBI has arrested former West Bengal education minister and senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee and some other functionaries, who held positions in the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) when the alleged scam took place.