Mamata Banerjee, Bengal SSC Chairman to challenge court order on termination of 24,000 jobs

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) Chairman Siddharth Majumder have said that they will challenge Calcutta High Court’s order that has nullified 24,000 jobs in the state. Banerjee called the order that cancelled the appointments illegal, while Majumder said that they will study the 300-page order first.

“The court verdict cancelling all recruitments is illegal. We stand by those who lost jobs. We will ensure you get justice, and challenge the order in a higher court,” CM Banerjee said about the termination of the appointments that were made through a 2016 teacher recruitment test. Banerjee’s statement came during an election rally at Raiganj in North Bengal. She also accused BJP of influencing a section of the judiciary and judgments. 

The appointments were made through the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools. 

Bengal SSC Chairman Siddharth Majumder said they will approach the apex court after going through the high court order. "We will go through the 300-page order... discuss and understand the legal aspects,” said Majumder.

The high court bench has also directed SSC to initiate a fresh recruitment process. 

WHAT THE COURT SAID

The bench, comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi, asked the CBI to undertake further investigation on the appointment process, and submit a report within three months. 

The bench, formed by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on a direction of the Supreme Court, extensively heard numerous petitions and appeals relating to the selection of candidates for appointment by the SSC in the categories of teachers of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12, and Group C and D staffers through the SLST-2016. The hearing concluded on March 20. 

A CBI investigation was ordered into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process, based on the writ petitions by some candidates who appeared for the SLST-2016 but did not get jobs. The high court had ordered the termination of a number of jobs of teaching and non-teaching staffers after finding irregularities, after which the apex court had accorded protection for a period of 6 months to enable the division bench to adjudicate on the disputes.

Meanwhile, state education minister Partha Chatterjee, and some functionaries who held positions in the WB SSC when the alleged scam took place, were arrested by the CBI.