Calcutta HC cancels entire Bengal school recruitment panel, 24,000 jobs to be axed

The Calcutta High Court has cancelled all appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff made through the 2016 state-level test in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools.

The judgement will affect all teachers recruited under Group C, D and IX, X, XI, XII categories and a total of 24,000 jobs now stand cancelled.

The division bench comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also asked the appointed persons to return their salary within six weeks. In its order, the court also directed the state government to conduct a new recruitment drive. It said the CBI will continue its investigation in the case.

The HC order includes all appointments of teaching, non-teaching staff in various government sponsored and aided schools in the state that were done through the 2016 state-level test conducted by West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).

The CBI, which investigated the case on an order of the High Court, had arrested former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and some functionaries who held positions in the WB SSC during the occurrence of the alleged scam.

The division bench comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi, formed by the Chief Justice of the 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 IX, X, XI, XII and group-C and D staffers through State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST).

Over 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the SLST-2016 for 24,640 vacant posts.

A total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued against the vacancies, said Firdaus Shamim, a lawyer for some of the petitioners.

The division bench also rejected a prayer by some appellants for a stay on the order.

Moments after the high court order, hundreds of school job aspirants waiting outside its premises rejoiced, as many broke into tears.

"We had been waiting for this day. After years of struggle on the streets, justice has finally been delivered," one of them said.

(With inputs from PTI)