Calcutta High Court Nullifies 24,000 WBSSC Recruitments in West Bengal
A division bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi of Calcutta High Court nullified the selection process of the State Level Selection Test – 2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, nearly 24000 jobs. The court ordered to start of a fresh recruitment procedure within 15 days. The court was hearing the case about the recruitment in categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11, and 12 and group C and D staffers for the year 2016.
In its order, the High Court also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue its investigation into the matter and present a report within 3 months. Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the central investigation agency to look into the matter and present its report to the court.
As per the CBI’s reporting, a total of 21,000 candidates were recruited illegally in all categories of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The investigation agency also found 9,000 OMR sheets being tempered in the process. Earlier, this year the former education minister Partha Chatterjee along with five others was arrested for the alleged irregularities including working as agents, collecting money from candidates, and employing them in various schools across the state, in the selection procedure of the candidates.
Individuals appointed under the said requirement procedure are asked to return the salaries they received within four weeks. However, relaxation has been provided for cancer patients as Soma Das a cancer patient will not lose her job.
In last year November, the Supreme Court of India requested the Calcutta High Court to form a dedicated bench to hear all the petitions and appeals to the alleged corruption in the recruitment procedure. However, the highest court provided a six-month safeguard to the appointments nullified by the High Court while the investigation by the central authority was underway.
After the report came in, the BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya slammed the ruling Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee for the corruption in the recruitment procedure.
