SC stays Calcutta HC’s order cancelling school jobs; rebukes Bengal govt for alleged recruitment scam

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Calcutta High Court order, which cancelled 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts in the state-run schools made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.

Stating that expeditious disposal of the matter will be in the interest of justice, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI), D.Y. Chandrachud, and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its investigation into the alleged scam, but restricted the agency from taking any coercive action against the candidates or officials.

Calling the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal a "systemic fraud”, the bench observed that the authorities have a responsibility to maintain digitised records concerning the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff.

In an order passed in the third week of April, the Calcutta High Court had nullified the appointment of the candidates selected by the expired panels and asked them to return the entire salary drawn during their tenures, along with an annualised interest of 12 per cent, within the next four weeks.

Besides directing the WBSSC to initiate the recruitment process afresh, the division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi also directed the probe agency to carry on with its investigation into the matter.

On Tuesday, the apex court bench said that it is willing to continue the ad interim protection given to the candidates, subject to the express stipulation that any person found to have been appointed illegally and continued as a consequence of the present order shall refund the salary.

The CJI said: “... We direct that the investigation ordered by the HC as per Clauses 7 and 8 in Para 363 shall continue but no coercive steps be taken...”

Last time, the top court had directed that no precipitative action will be taken by the CBI against the state government officials who were involved in approving the creation of super-numeric posts till the next date of listing.

It had asked the appellants to demonstrate if there was any secondary material available to segregate the valid appointments of all the 25,753 persons empanelled in 2016 for various categories of jobs at the secondary and higher secondary schools in the state.

Taking cognisance of the state Cabinet’s decision for the creation of super-numeric posts, it had said that the CBI, if necessary, can question the masterminds behind the creation of the seats in excess of the vacant posts.

These super-numeric posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally.

In July last year, the apex court had set aside the interim direction passed by the Calcutta High Court terminating the services of 32,000 primary teachers and asking the West Bengal authorities to complete the recruitment process for the newly created vacancies within three months.

Asking the high court to decide the appeal pertaining to the cash-for-school-jobs case at the earliest, the Supreme Court had stressed that the opportunity for a hearing has to be given to all concerned.