WB Teacher Recruitment Scam | Will See If Entire Selection Be Cancelled Or Identify Wrong Appointments, Says Supreme Court

Previously, the Court tagged a fresh batch of petitions filed by non-qualified candidates in the pending challenge to the Calcutta High Court's Order to the main matter.

On an earlier hearing, the Court had directed the respondents (the original writ petitioners before the High Court) to file their counter affidavits within 2 weeks, failing which their right to file counter would exhaust. These respondents had challenged the appointments made by WBSSC as against them. The jobs had come under the scanner due to the infamous cash-for-jobs recruitment scam.

There are 5 main categories of stakeholders which the Court identified : (1) West Bengal Government; (2) WBSSC; (3)Original Petitioners - who were not selected (representing classes 9-10, 11-12, groups C and D); (4) persons whose appointments are cancelled by the High Court ; (5) Central Bureau of Investigation.

It may be noted that the Top Court had earlier passed an interim order protecting the appointments, however clarifying that the appointees would be liable to refund the salaries if they were found to be beneficiaries of illegalities.

The top court has also permitted the CBI to continue its probe to determine the officials involved but precluded the agency from taking any coercive steps.

Background

On April 22, the Calcutta High Court had invalidated these jobs across government and aided schools. The jobs came under the scanner due to the infamous cash-for-jobs recruitment scam.

The State has argued that the High Court, instead of segregating the valid appointments from the invalid ones, has erroneously set aside the 2016 selection process entirely. It has also been averred that this will affect around 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in the State.

It has also been pleaded that the High Court solely relied upon the oral arguments without the support of affidavits. Further, it has been argued that the High Court has acted in utter disregard of the fact that the same will result in a huge vacuum in the State Schools unless a new selection process is completed. The State has emphasized that this will adversely impact the students given that the new academic session is approaching.

The State has also assailed the impugned order on the ground that it ordered the SSC to conduct a new selection process for declared vacancies within two weeks of the upcoming election results without acknowledging the understaffing issue in schools.

Findings Of The High Court

In a detailed order running into more than 280 pages, a division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi cancelled the entire panel of the 2016 SSC Recruitment upon finding irregularities with OMR sheets and ordered the state to conduct fresh examinations for the same.

Not only this, but the Court also directed the appointees, who were recognised to have been fraudulently appointed, to return the salary they had drawn.

The Court observed that the entire panel of recruitment originating out of the 2016 recruitment process had been tainted due to the irregularities with the OMR sheets, many of which were found blank, and were liable to be cancelled.

The Court also found that many of those whose appointments had been challenged had been appointed after the panel for the 2016 recruitment had expired by submitting blank OMR sheets.

In view of the above projection, the Court had also directed an investigation into those who perpetrated the fraud and disposed of the pleas by canceling the entire 2016 SSC Recruitment Panel.