In a significant verdict, the Calcutta High Court invalidated all appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff made through the 2016 state-level test in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided secondary and higher secondary schools. This ruling translates to the cancellation of 25,753 jobs.

Describing the appointments as “null and void,” the division bench, consisting of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi, mandated a fresh recruitment process to be conducted by the board. The court further directed individuals appointed after the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) panel’s expiration to reimburse their salaries with a 12% yearly interest rate within four weeks to district authorities. Notably, cancer patient Soma Das has been exempted on humanitarian grounds and allowed to retain her job.

Bengal’s School Service Commissioner expressed intentions to challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court.

This 281-page verdict casts a shadow on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, particularly in the election season. The 2016 State-Level Selection Test (SLST) witnessed over 23 lakh candidates vying for 24,640 vacant posts. Following the test, corruption allegations surfaced, leading to protests by a significant number of unsuccessful candidates who accused some selected candidates of securing positions through bribery. Subsequent investigations resulted in the arrest of a former state minister and numerous TMC functionaries.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly criticized the TMC government post the court’s ruling. BJP leader Amit Malviya highlighted the gravity of the judgment, emphasizing that approximately 25,735 jobs across various categories have been nullified, attributing the situation to the alleged corruption within Mamata Banerjee’s government.

In addition, the Calcutta HC bench instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct further investigations into the appointment process and submit a report within three months. Transparency measures include the directive for authorities to upload SSC recruitment test answer sheets on their website.

The court had previously mandated CBI to spearhead the investigation in November 2021, despite challenges from the West Bengal government, which were subsequently dismissed by the court.

As a result, CBI conducted raids in various locations in West Bengal from 2022 onwards. In a related development, former state education minister and TMC leader Partha Chatterjee faced arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in July 2022, where Rs 21 crore cash was discovered during raids at his residence.

By : Kruthiga V S

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