Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is set to deliver a crucial decision on December 19 regarding the Bengal school job scam. The case revolves around whether the entire examination process should be scrapped or only the wrongful appointments addressed. Allegations of corruption and irregularities have cast a shadow over the recruitment process. The verdict is expected to have far-reaching implications for transparency and accountability in public hiring.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court stated on Thursday that it will determine whether to annul the entire selection process for the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal’s government and aided schools, or to address specific cases of wrongful employment.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, which is reviewing 118 petitions on the matter, noted that time constraints prevented a thorough hearing.
Consequently, the bench scheduled the petitions, including one from the West Bengal government contesting a Calcutta High Court ruling, for further consideration on December 19.
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Chief Justice Khanna indicated that the focus of the hearing would be narrowed to either cancelling the entire examination or identifying individuals wrongfully appointed.
Emphasizing that the matter should not be overly complicated, He remarked,
“There is a very limited issue, this is with regards to whether the entire examination should have been cancelled or in case we were able to identify the candidates who got it wrongly,”
The Calcutta High Court previously invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff from the 2016 SSC recruitment process due to irregularities involving OMR sheets, and ordered the state government to conduct new examinations. On July 16, the Supreme Court granted the parties a final chance to respond to the petitions challenging the High Court’s decision.
The bench also issued procedural directives and appointed four lawyers as nodal counsel to compile a common electronic document after gathering information from the parties’ representatives. These nodal counsels included Astha Sharma for the state government, along with Shalini Kaul, Partha Chatterjee, and Shekhar Kumar.
On May 7, the Supreme Court provided significant relief to the teachers and staff affected by the High Court’s ruling while allowing the CBI to continue its investigation, which could involve state cabinet members if necessary. However, the Court cautioned the CBI against taking any hasty actions, such as arrests, during its inquiry.
The Supreme Court clarified that those whose appointments were annulled by the High Court would be required to refund their salaries and benefits if it was determined their recruitment was unlawful. The bench noted that a key issue requiring analysis was whether the problematic appointments could be separated from the rest, stating that if this were possible, it would be unjust to invalidate the entire process.
The Supreme Court described the alleged recruitment scandal in West Bengal as “systemic fraud,” highlighting the obligation of state authorities to maintain digital records of the appointments made.
The Chief Justice remarked,
“Public job is so scarce… Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today and are looked at for social mobility.”
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He further expressed concern over the impact of discredited appointments on public trust in the system.
The Calcutta High Court had also mandated a CBI investigation into the recruitment process, with a report due in three months. Over 2.3 million candidates participated in the state-level selection test (SLST) in 2016, which was held for 24,640 available positions, yet 25,753 appointment letters were issued.
The High Court instructed those appointed beyond the officially recognized vacancies or after the deadline, as well as individuals who submitted blank OMR sheets but still secured positions, to return all payments received, along with 12% annual interest, within four weeks.