West Bengal teacher recruitment scam: SC to hear pleas against cancellation of 25,753 jobs

The SC had termed the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal as 'systemic fraud', and requested the authorities digitised records on the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.

Supreme Court of India (File Photo | EPS)

The Supreme Court is slated to hear on January 27 a batch of pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court verdict cancelling the appointment of over 25,753 staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal.

A two-judge bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday as per the Supreme Court's cause list uploaded on the website.

On January 15, many petitioners argued that the high court verdict which invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal has adversely impacted their and their family members' livelihoods.

On May 7, 2024, the apex court stayed the HC's order over the appointments made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC). The top court, however, allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its probe into the matter.

The Calcutta HC had ordered the cancellation of 25,753 appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff, after allegedly finding irregularities.

The apex court, although partially allowed conditional interim protection of the previous order, had said that the salaries of the illegal appointees shall be refunded, subject to the outcome of the case.

Earlier last year, the three-judge bench of the top Court, led by the CJI D Y Chandrachud (now retired), had said that the court was of the view that an expeditious disposal of the matter would be in the interest of justice.

He said that any person found to have been appointed illegally and continued as a consequence of the present order shall refund the salary.

The SC had termed the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal as 'systemic fraud', and said that the authorities were duty-bound to maintain the digitised records on the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.

The SC had earlier observed that the public job is so scarce.

"Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today and are looked at for social mobility. What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this?" the CJI had observed.