Kolkata: West Bengal is experiencing a political uproar following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold last year’s ruling by the Calcutta High Court, which annulled all appointments made in teaching and non-teaching positions by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.
On April 22, 2024, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, consisting of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, canceled a total of 25,753 appointments, which included secondary and higher secondary teachers as well as non-teaching staff in both Group-C and Group-D categories. The court found it impossible to distinguish between eligible candidates and ineligible ones who secured jobs after paying money.
On Thursday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar affirmed the Calcutta High Court’s ruling.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and senior Calcutta High Court advocate Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, who has been involved in the legal proceedings from the outset, expressed regret over the situation. He noted that while it is unfortunate that some eligible candidates will also be affected by the Supreme Court’s decision, there appeared to be no alternative but to cancel the entire list of appointments.
“The corruption in the selection process was so widespread that it was impossible to separate the ‘genuine’ candidates from the ‘ineligible’ candidates. The apex court posed repeated questions to the WBSSC about the feasibility of such segregation, but the commission failed to provide a clear answer,” Bhattacharya indicated.
Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, state president of the BJP in West Bengal and Union Minister of State, criticized the ruling Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee, asserting that “genuine” candidates would now bear the consequences of the administration’s efforts to protect ineligible individuals who obtained jobs through financial means.
“The Supreme Court’s verdict highlights how, under Mamata Banerjee’s governance, the merit of educated unemployed youth in West Bengal was compromised for money. We demand that the Chief Minister resign and take full responsibility for this significant corruption,” Majumdar stated.
Trinamool Congress leader Biswajit Deb, currently serving as the advocate general of Mizoram, suggested that the state government should promptly file a review petition with the Supreme Court.
“The fundamental principle of the legal system is that while it’s acceptable for 1,000 culprits to escape justice, not a single innocent should suffer. Following this verdict, eligible candidates are now facing the consequences. Thus, the state government should quickly pursue a review petition,” Deb argued.
However, Bhattacharya countered that filing a review petition would only prolong the process and waste public funds.
As of the time of this report, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not yet responded to the matter.