West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Tuesday, May 7, hailed the Supreme Court order that stayed the Calcutta High Court verdict of invalidating the appointment of 25,753 school jobs and hoped that justice would prevail in the long run.
He expressed his gratitude to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stand by the eligible candidates who lost their jobs after the Calcutta High Court order.
"We are happy with the SC order and had faith in the apex court. The judges agreed and went by our principle demands," Basu told reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign at Krishnanagar in Nadia district.
The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court's April 22 decision that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.
Asked if the stay will help the TMC in the ongoing elections as the ruling party has been facing criticism over the alleged SSC scam and the arrests of two ministers and several former education officials, he said, "Everything cannot be judged by electoral gains. It is related to basic human issues," he said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, permitted the CBI to continue with its investigation and probe even members of the state cabinet.
The top court asked the CBI not to take any precipitate action like arresting a suspect during the investigation.
Asked about the SC's observation that the alleged scam was a "systemic fraud", Basu said, "This (2016 SSC scam) happened before I took charge of the department. Some people are now behind bars. Present School Service Commission chairman Siddhartha Majumdar was also not at the helm at that time."
A "systemic fraud"
Earlier in the day, the court termed the alleged scam as a "systemic fraud" and said the state authorities were duty-bound to maintain digitised records pertaining to the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff.
Basu claimed that the education department is making the recruitment process transparent.
Minister of State for Finance (Independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "The SC's stay order ensures the law of natural justice and brings smile to the face of families of 25,753 candidates."
When contacted SSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said the entire thing is a "sensitive issue".
