Teacher appointment dispute intensifies as Bengal government, SSC get high court nod to challenge verdict
by Utsav RoyOn Tuesday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court gave its nod to the West Bengal government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to contest a single-judge ruling concerning the initiation of a teacher recruitment process.
The order from the single bench, issued on Monday, instructed the WBSSC to bar candidates flagged as “tainted” in the 2016 recruitment cycle from applying in the newly announced hiring process for school teachers. This latest recruitment drive was launched following directives from the Supreme Court.
The division bench, led by Justice Soumen Sen, permitted the state authorities and the commission to move forward with their appeal and seek an expedited hearing.
Representatives of both the state and the commission submitted requests before the division bench, asking for approval to challenge the single-bench decision and urging the court for an early listing of the matter.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharya, presiding over the single bench, had earlier instructed the state and the WBSSC to continue with the teacher recruitment process for government-aided and sponsored schools, as outlined in the 30 May notification.
His ruling made it clear that candidates previously identified as “tainted” during the 2016 recruitment scandal would not be eligible to participate in this ongoing selection process.
Furthermore, Justice Bhattacharya stated that any applications submitted by such disqualified individuals under the new notification would be considered null and void.
He also emphasized that the timeline set by the Supreme Court in its 17 April verdict must be strictly followed, ensuring the recruitment process reaches a conclusive and lawful end.
In that April ruling, the Supreme Court had invalidated the appointments of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel across government-run and aided institutions due to irregularities in the selection procedure.
Following Justice Bhattacharya’s directions, legal counsel for the SSC appealed for a stay specifically on the order excluding tainted candidates from the 30 May recruitment round. However, the judge declined the request upon evaluation.
The single bench had been approached by petitioners challenging the SSC’s teacher recruitment drive as announced in the 30 May notification, which pertains to hiring assistant teachers for upper primary levels and for classes 9 through 12.