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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 8, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a Calcutta High Court order that had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe individuals within the West Bengal government who had approved the creation of supernumerary posts to allegedly accommodate illegal appointments in the West Bengal School Service Commission case.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, said that the high court was not justified in referring the issue of supernumerary posts to the Central Bureau of Investigation following a Cabinet decision. "We take note of Article 74 and 163(3) which specifically states that the question whether any and if so what advice was taken by the Cabinet of ministers to the aid and advice of the governor shall not be inquired into in any court," said the top court.

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

The top court's verdict followed several allegations of illegal recruitments in primary and secondary schools across West Bengal during a 2016 recruitment process. It was alleged that many candidates were appointed after their optical mark recognition sheets were improperly evaluated.

While the case was being heard in the high court in 2022, the West Bengal government's school education department had issued an order creating 6,861 supernumerary posts for teachers and non-teaching staff to accommodate wait-listed candidates. The order stated that appointment letters for these candidates would be issued based on the School Service Commission's recommendations, subject to the outcome of the ongoing litigation in the high court.

Last year, the high court had ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the creation of supernumerary posts. "It is shocking that at the level of the Cabinet of the state government, the decision is taken to protect employment obtained fraudulently in a selection process conducted by School Service Commission for State Funded Schools, knowing fully well that such appointments were obtained beyond the panel and after the expiry of the panel, at the bare minimum," the high court had said.  End

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

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