Supreme Court upholds Calcutta HC's cancellation of 25,000 WB school jobs

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Calcutta High Court's decision to cancel the appointment of nearly 25,000 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal in 2016 in connection with the school jobs-for-cash scam, reported Bar and Bench.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar noted that "the appointments were vitiated by manipulation and fraud."

 

"We have gone through the facts. Regarding findings of this case, entire selection process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud and credibility and legitimacy is denuded," the Court said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.

 

"We find no reason to interfere with the direction of the High Court that the services of the tainted candidates, where appointed, must be terminated and they will be required to refund any salaries and payment they received. Since the appointments are result of fraud and cheating, we see no justification to alter this direction," CJI added, as quoted by Live Law.

 

The court, however, also stated that candidates who have already been employed don't need to refund the payments made to them so far. It also directed the authorities to initiate and complete a fresh recruitment process within three months.

 

"The fresh selection process can also have relaxations for untainted candidates," the court added.

 

What's the case?

 

The case emerged from allegations of irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The controversy centers around alleged corruption during the state-level selection test, where 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 vacancies. However, a total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued, sparking concerns over manipulation.

 

In April 2024, the Calcutta High Court invalidated these appointments, citing issues such as tampered OMR sheets and rank manipulation. The Court’s judgment raised serious questions about the credibility of the recruitment process.

 

A slew of appeals were filed in the Supreme Court, including one from the West Bengal government. The state argued that the high court's decision was made on the basis of oral submissions and in absence of any affidavit on record, reported Bar and Bench. They expressed concerns that cancelling the appointments would create a significant vacuum in schools, the report added.

 

Following this, the Supreme Court stayed the high court's decision, allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue its probe but banning any coercive action against the appointed individuals. The apex court also directed that the salaries and benefits received by those found to be illegally appointed must be returned.