'Vitiated & Tainted': SC Invalidates Appointment Of 25,753 Teachers & Staff In West Bengal Schools

'Vitiated & Tainted': SC Invalidates Appointment Of 25,753 Teachers & Staff In West Bengal Schools

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments and ordered the Trinamool Congress-led state government to initiate a fresh selection process to be concluded within three months.

PTIUpdated: Thursday, April 03, 2025, 12:40 PM IST
article-image
Supreme Court of India | File Photo

New Delhi: In a major jolt to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools, and termed the entire selection process "vitiated and tainted".

Bench Upholds Calcutta HC's Verdict

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments and ordered the Trinamool Congress-led state government to initiate a fresh selection process to be concluded within three months.

"In our opinion, this is the case where the entire selection process is vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with attempts to cover up, have dented the selection process beyond repair.

"The credibility and legitimacy of selection are diluted, and accordingly, we have to keep it (order of the high court) with some modifications," the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict on as many as 127 petitions pertaining to the Calcutta High Court verdict.

The CJI also said the employees whose appointments have been annulled do not need to return their salaries and other emoluments earned so far.

It, however, made relaxation for certain disabled employees on humanitarian grounds, saying they would remain in the job.

The bench fixed pleas, including the one filed by the West Bengal government challenging the high court direction for a CBI probe, for hearing on April 4.

The detailed judgement is awaited.

Supreme Court Of India Reserves Its Judgment

On February 10, the top court reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions in the matter and said that those who got jobs wrongly may be knocked out.

The top court commenced the final hearing on December 19 last year and heard the parties on January 15, 27, and February 10 before reserving its verdict on the politically sensitive case.

Citing irregularities such as OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping, the high court had invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal.

On May 7 last year, the apex court stayed the high court's order over the appointments made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC).

The top court, however, permitted the CBI to continue with its probe into the matter.

The case stemmed from the alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal SSC in which 23 lakh candidates appeared for 24,640 posts and a total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued.

The apex court had termed it a "systemic fraud".

The high court instructed those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, those recruited after the expiry of the official date, and those who submitted blank OMR sheets but obtained appointments to return all the remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent per interest.

Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being probed in the recruitment scam.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

RECENT STORIES

Central Bank of India Recruitment 2025: Registration Window For Six Posts Starts; Check Salary...

Central Bank of India Recruitment 2025: Registration Window For Six Posts Starts; Check Salary...

Central Sector Scholarship 2025-26: Application Process Starts; Check Details Here

Central Sector Scholarship 2025-26: Application Process Starts; Check Details Here

Reach For Stars: Remote Tribal School In Tripura's Unakoti Opens Space Education Library

Reach For Stars: Remote Tribal School In Tripura's Unakoti Opens Space Education Library

Flood Situation Forces Punjab Govt To Keep Schools Shut Until September 3

Flood Situation Forces Punjab Govt To Keep Schools Shut Until September 3

RPSC Senior Teacher Recruitment Exam 2024 Admit Card To Be Out Soon; Check Guidelines Here

RPSC Senior Teacher Recruitment Exam 2024 Admit Card To Be Out Soon; Check Guidelines Here