Today, On 3rd April, The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict regarding petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order that invalidated the appointment of teachers in West Bengal. The HC had earlier scrapped these appointments over alleged irregularities in the selection process. The decision will have significant implications for affected teachers and the state’s education system. The ruling is highly anticipated amid ongoing legal battles over recruitment controversies.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to announce its verdict Today regarding appeals against the Calcutta High Court’s April 22, 2024 decision, which invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had reserved its judgment on February 10 after reviewing a series of petitions.
The court noted that “those who obtained jobs wrongly could be knocked out.”
The apex court considered over 120 petitions, including one from the West Bengal government, challenging the high court’s ruling.
The final hearing began on December 19 of the previous year, with discussions taking place on January 15, 27, and February 10 before the verdict was reserved in this politically sensitive matter.
The high court had cited various irregularities, including OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping, as reasons for invalidating the appointments of the 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.
On May 7 of last year, the Supreme Court stayed the high court’s order concerning the appointments made by the state’s school service commission (SSC), while allowing the CBI to continue its investigation.
This case arose from alleged irregularities during the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal SSC, which saw 23 lakh candidates compete for 24,640 posts, leading to 25,753 appointment letters being issued.
Several candidates who were denied selection challenged the process, alleging corruption, manipulation of merit lists, and favoritism in the hiring process. Complaints surfaced about the illegal appointment of ineligible candidates, with claims that recruitment rules had been violated.
The matter was taken to the Calcutta High Court, which conducted an inquiry into the allegations.
The high court ordered those appointed beyond the officially stated 24,640 vacancies, as well as those appointed after the official recruitment deadline and those who submitted blank OMR sheets, to return all salaries and benefits received, with an interest of 12 percent.
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