The bench, headed by CJI Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard petitions from the State of West Bengal, WB SSC, and affected candidates.
NEW DELHI: Today (15th July): The Supreme Court granted a final opportunity for filing responses to petitions challenging a Calcutta High Court order that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal.
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The bench, headed by CJI Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard petitions from the State of West Bengal, WB SSC, and affected candidates.
“The Chief Justice of India stated,
‘Alright, we will give them one opportunity… no counter filed till date. In the event that any of the respondents seek to file, they shall do so on or before two weeks; if no counter is filed, then the right to file a counter stands closed.'”
The bench also issued several procedural directions and appointed four lawyers—Astha Sharma representing the state government, along with Shalini Kaul, Partha Chatterjee, and Shekhar Kumar—as nodal counsel. They were tasked with compiling details from various parties into an electronic format to facilitate the court’s judgment-writing process.
“If we don’t undertake this exercise, it will be impossible to draft the judgment,” remarked the CJI during the proceedings.
At the hearing, a lawyer requested the bench to direct the CBI to submit a status report on the ongoing probe.
Earlier, on May 7, the Supreme Court had granted significant relief to teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal, whose appointments were annulled by the High Court due to irregularities in the appointment process.
They directed the original writ petitioners to file their counter affidavits within two weeks, warning that failing to do so would exhaust their right to respond.
These appointments were called into question due to allegations of a cash-for-jobs recruitment scam.
The Supreme Court has given a two-week deadline to all five parties involved in the case—the state, SSC, CBI, the main litigant, and the affected individuals—to submit their filings.
The next hearing on the cancellation of 26,000 SSC jobs is scheduled for three weeks from Tuesday, which is early August.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the state expressed its intention to file an affidavit, which was supported by the SSC. The court emphasized the appointment of nodal officers to facilitate arguments from both sides. It clarified that any additional parties wishing to submit must do so in writing within five pages, with a strict two-week submission deadline for all parties involved.
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The Supreme Court characterized the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal as “systemic fraud” and emphasized that state authorities have a duty to maintain digitized records related to the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.
“Public jobs are scarce… If public trust is lost, nothing remains. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are crucial for social mobility today,” remarked the Chief Justice of India to the lawyers representing the state government.
In addition to cancelling the appointments, the Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to investigate the appointment process and submit a report within three months.
Following this, the court will reconvene three weeks from now, one week after all submissions have been filed. This upcoming hearing could potentially determine the outcome of the case regarding the cancellation of 26,000 SSC jobs.
In April, the Calcutta High Court invalidated the entire 2016 recruitment panel, leading to the dismissal of 25,753 teachers and educational staff. The state promptly appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, which also saw interventions from the Board of Secondary Education and affected job seekers. On May 7, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the High Court’s order pending further proceedings.
During the State Level Selection Test -2016, over 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 vacant posts. Despite this, 25,753 appointment letters were issued. The Calcutta High Court instructed those appointed beyond the official vacancies, after the recruitment deadline, and those who submitted blank OMR sheets but still received appointments, to return all earnings and benefits received, along with 12% per annum interest, within four weeks.
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