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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

 

--SC on Bengal teachers recruitment:Selection process marred by manipulation 

--CONTEXT: SC order on Bengal govt plea against Calcutta HC recruitment order 

--CONTEXT: Calcutta HC cancelled teaching, non-teaching staff recruitment 

--SC upholds HC order cancelling Bengal teaching, non-teaching staff hiring 

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Calcutta High Court order cancelling the recruitment of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission. The apex court said this was a case where the entire selection process was vitiated and tainted beyond resolution.

 

The bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna said that manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with attempts to cover up, had tainted the selection process beyond repair and partial retention. "The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded," the top court said, adding that it had proceeded to make some modifications on the directions given by the high court.

 

"We find no valid ground or reason to interfere with the direction of the high court that services of tainted candidates for appointment must be terminated," the top court said. The entire selection process had been rightly declared null and void with the egregious violations and illegalities which violate articles 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution, it said.

 

The appointment of tainted candidates must be terminated as their selection amounts to cheating and fraud, the court said. "As such, appointments of these candidates are cancelled." However, the candidates already employed would not be asked to refund any payments made to them, the court said, though the services would be terminated. 

 

Some of the appointed candidates who do not fall within the category of tainted candidates have previously worked in different parts of the state, government or autonomous bodies. In such cases, though the appointments were cancelled, these candidates would have the right to apply to government departments and autonomous bodies to continue service with those entities, said the court. Such applications must be processed by the respective government department or body within three months, and the candidates will be allowed to resume their positions, the court added. Further, the period between termination of the previous appointment and rejoining will not be considered as a break in service, the court added. The seniority and other entitlements will be preserved, and they will be eligible for increments for the period they were employed under the deputed department, said the court.

 

The apex court said that disabled candidates would be permitted to continue and receive wages until the fresh selection process and appointments were completed. Similarly, other candidates who are not specifically tainted will also be eligible to participate in the fresh selection process with the initial relaxation. "In our opinion, such selection would be fair and just as would allow these candidates to take part in a fresh selection process which would now be initiated to fill the vacancies," the court said.

 

It added that it would independently take up the issue with regard to appeals filed by the state of West Bengal on direction of an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the decision taken to create supernumerary posts. The case will be heard next on Friday. 

 

Last year, the top court had termed the recruitment scam in West Bengal a systemic fraud. "The 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. What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this?" former chief justice D.Y. Chandrachud had asked. 

 

The case pertains to various alleged illegal recruitments made in primary and secondary schools across West Bengal during a recruitment process in 2016. It was alleged before the high court that most candidates were given jobs after optical mark recognition sheets were evaluated in a wrong manner.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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