Supreme Court halts High Court ruling on teacher recruitment, permits CBI investigation
- In Reports
- 08:09 PM, May 07, 2024
- Myind Staff
The Supreme Court issued an interim stay on the Calcutta High Court's ruling, which invalidated the entire 2016 SSC teachers' recruitment panel. This decision nullified the appointments of 24,000 teachers and non-teaching staff. The Court directed the CBI to proceed with its investigation.
The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to proceed with its investigation into the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam case. However, it specified that no coercive action should be taken against any official or candidate.
Describing the alleged recruitment scam as a "systemic fraud", the Court emphasised that authorities must uphold their obligation to maintain digitised records related to the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard a series of petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court's ruling.
The Chief Justice questioned the lawyers representing the state government, emphasising the significance of public jobs in today's society and the potential impact of maligned appointments on public trust.
He referred to such occurrences as systemic fraud and highlighted the importance of maintaining faith in the system amidst the scarcity of public employment opportunities.
The bench stated that the state government failed to provide evidence of data maintenance by its authorities and inquired about its availability.
"You either possess the data or you do not... It was your responsibility to preserve the documents in digital format. Now, it appears evident that the data is missing. You seem unaware that your service provider has enlisted another agency. You were supposed to maintain supervisory control," the bench informed the state government's lawyers.
Previously, the state government had contested the Calcutta High Court's order, asserting that it arbitrarily revoked the appointments.
In 2014, the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) declared that the State Level Selection Test (SLST) would be utilised for hiring teachers in the state-run schools of West Bengal.
The recruitment process commenced in 2016 but encountered several hurdles, including multiple petitions lodged in the Calcutta High Court, alleging irregularities during the recruitment process.
The petitioners alleged that numerous candidates with lower grades were positioned higher on the merit list, prompting concerns regarding the fairness of the selection process. Additionally, there were accusations that individuals who did not feature on the merit list were issued appointment letters.
Image source: The Economic Times
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