Supreme Court stays CBI probe into West Bengal Government officials' role in teacher recruitment scam

Tribune News Service

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 29

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Calcutta High Court’s order for a CBI to probe the role of West Bengal government officials in the teachers’ recruitment scam.

“We will stay the direction which says the CBI will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The Bench, however, refused to stay the high court’s order cancelling the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff, saying it will hear the matter on May 6.

The order came on the West Bengal Government’s petition challenging the April 22 order of the high court invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools.

Declaring the entire selection process as “null and void”, the high court had directed the CBI to probe into the appointment process and submit a report to it in three months. “All appointments granted in the selection processes involved being violative of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, are declared null and void and cancelled,” the high court had said.

The high court had said the CBI would undertake further investigations with regard to the persons in the state government involved in approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments. If necessary, the CBI will also undertake custodial interrogation of such persons involved, it had said.

However, noting that taking away the jobs of about 25,000 persons was a serious matter, the Bench asked if it’s possible to segregate the valid and invalid appointments on the basis of the material available and who the beneficiaries of the fraud were.

The state government has challenged the high court’s order for being “arbitrarily”.

“The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill,” the state government submitted.

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#Central Bureau of Investigation CBI #Supreme Court #West Bengal