New Delhi:
Stressing that students must not suffer, the Supreme Court today said West Bengal teachers whose appointments were cancelled earlier this month due to irregularities in recruitment can continue to teach till the fresh selection process is completed. This relief, however, is only for ‘untainted’ teachers — those whose names were not linked to any irregularity during the investigation into the 2016 appointments. Also, the relief is for teachers of Class 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The Supreme Court, however, set a deadline for the Bengal School Service Commission (SSC). Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna said the SSC must release advertisements for the fresh recruitment drive by May 31 and the selection process must conclude by December 31.
“We are inclined to accept the prayer made in the application in so far as it relates to the assistant teachers of classes 9 and 10 and classes 11 and 12. Subject to following conditions that the ad for fresh recruitment shall be out by May 31 and the exam, including the entire process, shall be done by December 31.”
“The state government and the commission shall file an affidavit in or before May 31, enclosing the ad copy as well as the schedule so as to ensure the completion of the recruitment process by December 31. In case the ad is not published as directed, appropriate orders shall be passed, including imposition of costs,” the Chief Justice said.
This relief, however, won’t apply to the non-teaching staff — Group C and Group D — among the over 25,000 employees whose appointments were cancelled by the Supreme Court on April 7.
“We are not inclined to accept the prayers of Group C and D employees, as the number of established tainted candidates is higher in number. What has prompted us to pass this order for untainted assistant teachers is that students undergoing studies should not suffer on account of the order passed by this court,” the bench said.
The Supreme Court’s relief to a section of teachers comes amid a crisis in several state-run schools, where several teachers lost their jobs after the Supreme Court order. The SSC and the Bengal government had approached the court for relief after the sackings disrupted classes in these schools.
In its April 7 order, the Chief Justice-led bench had said the entire selection process in 2016 was “vitiated”. “In our opinion, this is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,” the court said in its order.
The court said that the candidates not specifically found to be tainted won’t have to refund the salaries they have received over the years. “However, their services will be terminated. Furthermore, no candidate can be appointed once the entire examination process and results have been declared void,” it said. Those found tainted during the investigation into the irregularities must return the salaries they had drawn so far, the court ruled.
The Mamata Banerjee government had challenged the high court order — which cancelled all appointments — and pressed for a segregation of tainted and untainted candidates. Upholding the high court ruling, the Supreme Court said any ascertainment became difficult “given the scale of camouflage and dressing up done at each stage”. “We are convinced that the entire selection process was intentionally compromised due to the illegalities involved,” it said.
