In a major setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led government, the Supreme Court today, Thursday, April 3, upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to cancel the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff under the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), reported NDTV, on Thursday, April 3.
The apex court, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, ruled that the 2016 selection process was “vitiated by manipulation and fraud,” stripping its credibility and legitimacy.
The court further found no grounds to overturn the high court’s order, declaring the appointments fraudulent due to widespread cheating.
The controversy stems from supernumerary posts created by the state, with 25,753 appointment letters issued against 24,640 vacancies, despite over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the 2016 state-level test. It is alleged that these supernumerary posts made room for illegal recruitment.
The state government’s plea to segregate tainted and untainted candidates was rejected. The court ordered a fresh selection process within three months, allowing those who pass to retain salaries drawn since 2016, while others must refund theirs. Persons with disabilities were exempted and permitted to continue in their roles.
The opposition party is calling this a 'crushing defeat' for the West Bengal government. Mamata Banerjee's close aide, Partha Chatterjee, who served as the Education Minister and was caught with wads of cash, is already in jail for his role in the scam.
The scam had also ruined the future of several eligible candidates, said the opposition.
