HC allows Bengal govt, SSC to challenge order on teacher recruitment

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the West Bengal government and the WBSSC (West Bengal School Service Commission) to challenge a single-bench order regarding commencement of the selection process for school teachers.

The single bench on Monday directed the commission to debar the identified tainted candidates of the 2016 selection process from participating in this year’s fresh recruitment procedure, which the WBSSC has recently notified following directions from the Supreme Court.

A division bench presided over by Justice Soumen Sen allowed the state government and WBSSC to file their appeal.

Lawyers for the state and the SSC moved the division bench and prayed for permission of the court to file the appeal and sought an early hearing.

A single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya had on Monday directed the state government and the SSC to proceed with the selection process of teaching staff for West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, which started vide a recruitment notification dated 30 May.

The court directed that identified tainted candidates would not be permitted to participate in said selection process.

Justice Bhattacharya directed that if any tainted candidate had applied in order to offer his or her candidature under the said recruitment notification, the same would stand cancelled.

He also directed that the time schedule fixed by the Supreme Court in its order of 17 April be strictly adhered to by the authorities to bring the selection process to a logical conclusion.

The Supreme Court had on 17 April annulled the appointment of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run and aided institutions after finding that the selection process was tainted.

After the order was dictated by the single bench of Justice Bhattacharya, the lawyer representing the SSC had prayed for a stay on the order with regard to debarring tainted candidates from participating in the selection process based on the 30 May notification.

Justice Bhattacharya refused the prayer after due consideration. Some petitioners had challenged before the single bench the appointment process initiated through the 30 May notification for the recruitment by SSC to the posts of assistant teachers for upper primary level and from classes 9 to 12.