This marks the second instance in which Justice Gangopadhyay has engaged in a dispute with a division bench, even disregarding its orders on occasion, and Supreme Court has to intervene.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has intervened in a contentious case involving the recruitment of primary school teachers in West Bengal, leading to a stay on proceedings before Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court. This case, which has seen multiple rounds of litigation, underscores the complexities and challenges in the Indian judicial system, particularly in matters of public recruitment and legal oversight.
Hearing an appeal in the recruitment scam matter, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan sought the response of the Central and West Bengal governments and passed the following direction,
“Permission is granted to file Special Leave Petitions. Issue notice returnable on 15th March, 2024 … In the meanwhile, proceedings of WPA No.18726 of 2023 along with the matters connected therewith before the learned single-judge will remain stayed”
The case originated with a petition filed by several candidates who claimed they were unfairly excluded from selection as teachers, despite participating in interviews and aptitude tests. These candidates demanded the disclosure of their individual marks and the publication of the candidate panel as per the Primary School Teachers Recruitment Rules of 2016.
However, the West Bengal Board of Primary Education contested this demand, citing a previous stay order by a division bench on the publication of the panel. Justice Gangopadhyay, in an order dated January 3, countered this argument by stating that a stay cannot be granted on a provision of law.
He emphasized,
“An interim order passed by a court in respect of one matter having one set of facts, cannot be used for another matter having different set of facts, especially when it has been admitted by the Board itself, a party, that panels have already been published by the Board which has been quoted above.”
This order by Justice Gangopadhyay was subsequently challenged before a division bench comprising Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Uday Kumar. The bench criticized the manner in which Justice Gangopadhyay disregarded its earlier order, stating,
“However, the learned single-judge has not stated in the order distinguishing facts on the basis of which the aforesaid order could have been passed as in our order, we have clearly stated in paragraph 3 that the writ petitioners have to first establish their legal right as duly qualified TET 2014 candidates in order to get relief whatever the nature of the proceeding may be.”
Reaffirming its stay, the division bench on January 10 set aside Justice Gangopadhyay’s order directing the Board to produce the hard or soft copy of the panel. This decision was then escalated to the Supreme Court, which stayed the proceedings before Justice Gangopadhyay.
Representing the petitioner-teachers before the Supreme Court were Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, along with advocates Parth Burman, Ranjeeta Rohatgi, and Vishal Banshal. Advocates Kunal Chatterji, Astha Sharma, Maitrayee Banerjee, Rohit Bansal, Kshitij Singh, and Sohhom Sau appeared for the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.
This case marks the second round of litigation in this matter before the apex court. Previously, in July of the last year, the Supreme Court had set aside an interim order of the Calcutta High Court passed by Justice Gangopadhyay, which directed the West Bengal Board of Primary Education to conduct a fresh selection exercise for 32,000 teacher posts before the end of August 2023.
Justice Gangopadhyay’s earlier order on May 12 had cancelled the appointments of teachers, citing irregularities and a “stinking rats” scent in the recruitment scam, known as the school jobs for cash scam. He noted the absence of a selection committee and the involvement of an external agency in the recruitment process, which was in violation of the Recruitment Rules.
The Supreme Court’s intervention and the subsequent remittance of the matter to a division bench highlight the ongoing legal battle and the scrutiny of recruitment processes in public education. The case continues to evolve, reflecting the dynamic and often contentious nature of judicial review in matters of public interest and governance.
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