HC cancels 26,000 appointments in Bengal schools: What is the teacher recruitment scam?

In West Bengal, 23,753 teachers and non-teaching lost their jobs on Monday. They have to return their salaries with interest. It is quite a shocker but this is the order of the Calcutta High Court.

On Monday, the Calcutta High Court rendered a pivotal decision, declaring the entire panel of the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment null and void due to identified irregularities in appointments across various educational sectors in the state. Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi, comprising the division bench, unequivocally invalidated all appointments made through the 2016 state-level test conducted by the West Bengal SSC. The court mandated the administration to initiate fresh appointments within a 15-day timeframe.

The court’s decree extends further, necessitating individuals appointed under the invalidated process to refund their salaries within a stipulated six-week period.

We take a look at how the scam unfolded and the impact of the HC decision on West Bengal ahead of the polls.

What is the teacher recruitment scandal in Bengal?

The alleged West Bengal Teacher Recruitment Scam traces back to the initiation of the teacher appointment process in state-run schools via the State Level Selection Test (SLST) in 2014, with the recruitment commencing in 2016.

The West Bengal government issued a notification in 2016 for the recruitment of 13,000 Group-D employees in state-run schools.

There were several petitions filed in the HC alleging irregularities in the scam. The petitioners claimed that several candidates with low grades were placed higher on the merit list, raising concerns about the fairness of this process. There were allegations that individuals who were not on the merit list were given appointment letters.

In another case, petitioners alleged that despite the expiration of the appointment panel in 2019, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) continued to make appointments. Some petitioners asserted that over 500 individuals secured appointments post-panel expiration, subsequently drawing salaries from the state exchequer.

In November 2021, a single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered a preliminary inquiry by the CBI into alleged irregularities. He passed the order while hearing a petition by job aspirants who claimed appointments were made after the panel set up for recruitment in Group D staff in state-run schools had expired.

The WBBSE, in an affidavit before the court, had claimed that all the appointments were based on recommendations by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). However, the commission submitted an affidavit before the court stating that after 4 May 2019, when the panel for the Group D staff requirement had expired, no recommendation letter was issued by it, according to a report in The Indian Express.

What inquiries into the case revealed?

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated the case.

In 2022, the CBI probe focused on the appointment of 269 primary school teachers in schools aided and sponsored by the state government. The FIR by the CBI alleged irregularities in the 2014 selection process, claiming incorrect question and answer keys were used to exclude eligible candidates, reports The Times of India. It claimed some ineligible candidates were appointed – candidates who submitted blank exam papers also got the job.

The ED conducted a separate investigation into alleged money laundering linked to the scam.

In August 2022, the ED arrested former education minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee. Chatterjee was named the prime accused in the case.

Several SSC officials, including TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, were also arrested.

The charge sheet
filed by the ED said Rs 103.10 crore assets
were held by former state minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee.

Earlier this month, the ED attached properties worth Rs 230 crore of a former adivser to the Bengal SSC Shanti Prasad Sinha and an alleged middleman Prasanna Roy. The latter allegedly collected money and details from candidates.

What did the Calcutta high court say?

A division bench of the Calcutta HC cancelled the illegal recruitment of 23,753 teachers and non-teaching staff and has ordered fresh recruitment against the posts within 15 days.

The bench led by Justice Debangsu Basak observed that the OMR sheets of Group C, Group D, Class IX and X were manipulated in 2016, making all the recruitments illegal. It added that the names of those who were recruited were included in the panel illegally. “We have no other way but to cancel the whole recruitment panel,” Justice Basak said, according to a report in The Indian Express.

How have Bengal leaders reacted to the verdict?

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has termed the verdict illegal and has pledged to appeal against it. “Our government will stand for those who lost their jobs and we will appeal this order before a higher court,” she said at a rally in Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency. “We challenge the verdict, as it affects 1.5-2 lakh families. Is it possible to return the salary of eight years in 4 weeks?”

The state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar hit out at the Trinamool Congress over the scam. “It is now proved that the TMC government recruited teachers for money. They turned teachers into commodities and sold them in the market,” he said.

Will there be any ramifications on polls?

The timing of the Calcutta HC decision conflicts with the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The 2024 General election is being held in seven phases and the state of West Bengal is one of only three states that will be voting in all seven of them.

Several Trinamool leaders, including Chatterjee and former officials find themselves incarcerated in connection with the teacher recruitment case.

The BJP in Bengal has seized upon the court’s ruling, directing criticism towards the Trinamool (TMC) government. They asserted that Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, who holds a significant position in the party hierarchy, are poised for defeat.

“The High Court has cancelled about 24,000 SSC recruitments from 2016, CBI can take anyone into custody. A smile has appeared on the faces of the worthy. This time, the nephew and his aunt will be defeated. #TMCExposed,” said BJP Bengal.

Judge Abhijit Ganguly, who had also instigated a CBI probe in the case, resigned following several altercations with the ruling TMC party and is currently contesting as a BJP candidate in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.