'One Of The Kingpins Of This Corruption': Calcutta HC Orders CBI To Interrogate Former WBSSC Advisor By Tonight In SSC 'Group D' Recruitment Scam

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday has once again ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the appointment of 'Group-D' (non-teaching staff) in sponsored Secondary and Higher Secondary schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) on the purported recommendation by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

In 2016, the State government had recommended the appointment of about 13,000 non-teaching staff in different government aided schools and accordingly the WBSSC had conducted examinations and interviews periodically and thereafter a panel had been constituted. The term of the panel had ended in 2019. However, subsequently, there were widespread allegations that the Commission had made several irregular recruitments close to almost 500 even after the expiry of the panel.

The Judge on Thursday directed the regional head of the CBI to call upon S.P. Sinha, former Advisor of the School Service Commission in course of the day and start questioning him. The CBI has been directed to initiate the interrogation by midnight. 

Opining that the former advisor of the Commission has been found to be 'one of the kingpins of this corruption', the Court ordered, 

"In such circumstances a thorough probe is required to bust the racket of giving illegal appointments. I have found from other similar matters that the said Dr. Santi Prasad Sinha as one of the kingpins of this corruption of giving illegal public appointment. Hence, I direct the regional head of the Central Bureau of Investigation to call Mr. S. P. Sinha in course of the day and start questioning him. The CBI is directed to initiate the said interrogation in course of the day - I mean by 12 midnight today."

The matter has been listed for further hearing tomorrow i.e. on April1. 

It may be noted that Justice Gangopadhyay on Wednesday took strong objection to the direction issued by the Division Bench comprising Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Rabindranath Samanta to take on record the affidavit of assets that is to be filed by S.P. Sinha, former SSC advisor, in a 'sealed cover'. 

Recording serious displeasure against such an order by the Division Bench, Justice Gangopadhyay had observed,

"I do not know what this court will do with a sealed cover in this proceeding when the hand of this appeal court has been tied by the above observation. I have been prevented from taking any consequential step on going through the said affidavit of assets."

Upon perusal of the record, the Court noted that the Commission stated they did not recommend those candidates although the Board had averred that they have recommended them on the basis of the recommendations received by them from the Commission.

It was further opined that the Court had interrogated Advisor to the Commission S. P. Sinha and Samarjit Acharya, the Programme Officer of the Commission during the proceedings. Opining that recommendations had been issued from outside the office of the Commission at the instance of Sinha, the Court underscored, 

"..it appeared that on the basis of some recommendation from outside the office of the Commission at the instance of Mr. Sinha, the recommendation letters were printed by the Programme Officer wherein the signatures of the Chairman of the Commission were mechanically printed. The Chairman was kept in the dark. Said Mr. S. P. Sinha was also convenor of a five- member committee constituted by the School Education Department with high officials of Education department."

 The Commission in an affidavit filed before the Court had submitted that 96 recommendation letters which appears to have been issued between 23rd September, 2019 and 20th December, 2019, have not been issued by the Commission.

Background 

This development comes after a series of orders issued by Justice Gangopadhyay directing for a CBI probe have been stayed or quashed by the Division Bench pertaining to the alleged recruitment scam. The Division Bench had earlier quashed Justice Gangopadhyay's order which had directed the CBI to conduct a probe into the alleged recruitment scam.

Subsequently, the Division Bench had again imposed a stay for 2 weeks on Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay's order wherein a similar CBI probe had been ordered into the alleged recruitment scam. Thereafter, the Division Bench had extended the interim order granting stay for a period of 4 weeks after noting that the record reflects a 'shocking state of affairs' pertaining to the alleged illegal recruitments.

 The Division Bench had also up an inquiry committee headed by Justice Ranjit Kumar Bagh, former judge of the Calcutta High Court to probe into the recruitment scam. The other members of the committee includes Asutosh Ghosh, Member of West Bengal School Service Commission, Paromita Roy, Deputy Secretary (Administration), West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and advocate Arunava Banerjee, a practicing lawyer of the High Court.

Case Title: Laxmi Tunga v. The State of West Bengal & Ors.

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