The Supreme Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision cancelling 25,000 teacher and staff jobs in the ‘West Bengal Teachers Recruitment Scam’ which was a cash-for-jobs scandal.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjiv Kumar refused to interfere with the High Court decision after noting that the appointments were vitiated by manipulation and fraud.
The court has directed the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. However, the Court clarified that the candidates who were appointed would not be required to return the salaries they have already received.
Key Details:
The selection process was deemed “vitiated beyond repair” due to large-scale fraud, including OMR sheet tampering and rank manipulation, making it impossible to distinguish genuine candidates from ineligible ones.
The court ordered a new selection process within three months. Candidates who qualify in the fresh process can retain salaries drawn since 2016.
Employees who left prior government jobs to join through the 2016 recruitment may return to their former positions if they choose.
According to reports, approximately 23 lakh candidates participated in the recruitment process for filling over 24,000 vacancies in state-aided schools. Reports also confirm that the state government made over 25,000 appointments.
In April 2024, the High Court cancelled the appointment of 24,000 employees (both teaching and non-teaching) to State-aided schools.
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