West Bengal Teacher Recruitment Scam: High Court Nullifies All Appointments, over 25,000 Jobs Eliminated
The bench directed the West Bengal School Service Commission to initiate a fresh appointment process. The Calcutta High Court on Monday declared as null and void the recruitment process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, ordering cancellation of all appointments made through it.
The bench directed the West Bengal School Service Commission to initiate a fresh appointment process.
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.
Disposing of petitions before it in connection with the matters, the Supreme Court had on November 9, 2023, requested the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to constitute a division bench to hear all the petitions and appeals pertaining to the recruitment process through SLST-2016 for early adjudication.
The apex court had in its order accorded protection to the appointments, which were terminated by the high court, for a period of six months to enable the division bench to adjudicate on the disputes.
The CBI had completed the investigation into the matters and submitted a report before the high court in accordance with the direction of the Supreme Court to do so within two months from the date of its order.
The central probe agency has arrested former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and some functionaries, who held positions in the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) when the alleged scam took place.
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