'Students should not suffer': SC allows 'untainted' Bengal teachers to stay

SC has allowed untainted West Bengal teachers to continue teaching until a new recruitment process is completed, but excludes non-teaching staff and imposes strict timeline for new hiring

Emphasising that students' education should not be disrupted, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed West Bengal teachers — whose appointments were scrapped earlier this month over recruitment irregularities — to continue teaching until a new selection process is completed. 

This interim relief is limited to ‘untainted’ teachers — those not found involved in any wrongdoing during the probe into the 2016 recruitment — and only applies to instructors for Classes 9 to 12.

 

Strict timeline for recruitment

The top court also imposed a timeline on the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), directing that the recruitment advertisement must be published by May 31, and the entire hiring process completed by December 31. 

 

  “We are inclined to accept the prayer made in the application in so far as it relates to the assistant teachers of classes 9 and 10 and classes 11 and 12. Subject to following conditions that the ad for fresh recruitment shall be out by May 31 and the exam, including the entire process, shall be done by December 31,” said Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna. 

He further said, “The state government and the commission shall file an affidavit in or before May 31, enclosing the ad copy as well as the schedule so as to ensure the completion of the recruitment process by December 31. In case the ad is not published as directed, appropriate orders shall be passed, including imposition of costs.” 

However, the court clarified that this relief does not extend to non-teaching personnel — such as Group C and Group D employees — among the 25,000 appointments annulled by the apex court on April 7.

 

“We are not inclined to accept the prayers of Group C and D employees, as the number of established tainted candidates is higher in number. What has prompted us to pass this order for untainted assistant teachers is that students undergoing studies should not suffer on account of the order passed by this court,” the Bench said. 

The Supreme Court’s directive comes at a time when numerous state-run schools are grappling with a staff crunch following the mass terminations. In the wake of this disruption, the SSC and the state government had appealed to the court for relief. 

In its April 7 verdict, the Bench headed by the Chief Justice described the 2016 recruitment as fundamentally flawed. “In our opinion, this is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,” the apex court had said.

 

Salary repayment for tainted candidates

According to the ruling, individuals not explicitly identified as tainted will not be asked to return the salaries they earned, but their services will still be terminated. “However, their services will be terminated. Furthermore, no candidate can be appointed once the entire examination process and results have been declared void,” the order read. On the other hand, those found guilty of misconduct must repay the salaries they received. 

The Mamata Banerjee administration had contested the high court’s blanket cancellation of all appointments, seeking a clear distinction between those involved in irregularities and those who were not. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed her disagreement with the Supreme Court’s verdict, suggesting that a transfer of the affected staff would have been a fairer alternative. “I have a question here. If the only consequence after crores are recovered from a judge's house is a transfer, they could have just transferred these 25,000 brothers and sisters as well,” she said. 

 

Clarifying that her remarks were not aimed at the judiciary, Banerjee added, “We have no complaint against any judge. But, as a citizen, I have every right to say — with respect to the judiciary — that I cannot accept the judgment.” 

She further said, “We cannot criticise a judge, but we can express our views on humanitarian grounds.” 

However, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier ruling, citing the scale of manipulation. “We are convinced that the entire selection process was intentionally compromised due to the illegalities involved,” it observed, noting that identifying untainted candidates was difficult “given the scale of camouflage and dressing up done at each stage.”

 

[With agency inputs]