The Calcutta High Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on the school jobs scam on April 22. The petitions and appeals concerning alleged irregularities in the selection of candidates for government-sponsored and aided secondary and Higher secondary schools in West Bengal.
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KOLKATA: Today (22nd April): The Calcutta High Court is set to announce its judgment regarding petitions and appeals concerning alleged irregularities in the selection of candidates for government-sponsored and aided secondary and Higher secondary schools in West Bengal.
Background
In 2016 recruitment process, which has come under scrutiny for possible misconduct. Former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and several officials associated with the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during its investigation into the matter.
A division bench consisting of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi will deliver the judgment on a multitude of petitions and appeals that were jointly heard in relation to the school job recruitment process. This division bench was formed by the Chief Justice of the High Court following a direction from the Supreme Court.
The extensive hearings involved various petitions and appeals regarding the selection of candidates for teaching positions in classes 9, 10, 11, and 12, as well as group-C and D staff positions, through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST).
The hearings concluded on March 20, and the division bench reserved its judgment. In response to writ petitions filed by candidates who participated in SLST-2016 but were not selected, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s single bench ordered a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process. The High Court, upon discovering irregularities, also terminated a number of teaching and non-teaching staff positions.
Addressing the petitions associated with the matter, the Supreme Court, on November 9, 2023, requested the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to assign a division bench to handle all the petitions and appeals related to the SLST-2016 recruitment process for prompt resolution.
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Furthermore, the apex court provided protection to the terminated appointments for a period of six months, allowing the division bench sufficient time to adjudicate on the disputes. The CBI concluded its investigation and submitted a report to the High Court within two-month timeframe directed by the Supreme Court.
