Supreme Court Grants Final Opportunity for Responses in West Bengal Recruitment Case

The Supreme Court has provided a final opportunity to file responses to pleas challenging the Calcutta High Court's decision invalidating the appointment of over 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal. The court has set the cases for a final hearing in three weeks and issued procedural directions, including appointing nodal counsel for compilation of details.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a final opportunity to file responses to pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal.

The pleas, including one filed by the West Bengal government, challenge the high court's April 22 judgment. The top court, which has been hearing 33 petitions related to the case, set them for a final hearing after three weeks.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra noted that many parties, including the West Bengal government, had not yet filed their response affidavits. "Alright, we will give them one opportunity... no counter (affidavit) filed to date. In the event that any of the respondents seek to file, they shall do so within two weeks. If no counter (affidavit) is filed, the right to file counter stands closed," the CJI said.

The bench issued several procedural directions and appointed four lawyers as nodal counsel, asking them to file a common compilation in electronic form after gathering details from the lawyers of various parties.

During the hearing, a lawyer requested the bench to direct the CBI to submit a status report on the ongoing probe. The top court had earlier provided relief to the teachers and non-teaching staff, whose services were invalidated by the high court due to irregularities in the appointment process. However, the court had allowed the CBI to continue its investigation and even look into the actions of state cabinet members if necessary.

While granting relief, the court asked the CBI not to take any precipitative action like arrests during the investigation. It also stated that teachers and non-teaching staff must refund salaries if found that their recruitment was illegal. The top court termed the alleged recruitment scam a "systemic fraud" and emphasized the need for state authorities to maintain digitized records of the appointments.

The Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to investigate the recruitment process after noting that over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the State Level Selection Test (SLST)-2016 for 24,640 vacant posts, but 25,753 appointment letters were issued. Those appointed outside the officially available vacancies or after the recruitment date, and individuals who submitted blank OMR sheets but still were appointed, were instructed to return all remunerations with 12 percent annual interest within four weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)