Calcutta High Court Dismisses West Bengal Teacher Recruitment Panel, Over 24,000 Jobs Dismissed

During the hearing of the matter, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court observed that school teachers who were recruited illegally (blank OMR sheet) will need to give back their salaries within four weeks.

Kolkata: In a big blow to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, the Calcutta High Court on Monday dismissed the entire 2016 recruitment panel for school teachers constituted by the West Bengal Service Commission (WBSC) in the job scam. With this, over 24,000 jobs have been dismissed by the court.

During the hearing of the matter, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi observed that school teachers who were recruited illegally (blank OMR sheet) will need to give back their salaries within four weeks.

In this regard, the district magistrate has been tasked with collecting the money from these teachers.

The high court called it ‘null and void’ and ruled in its verdict that the board must conduct a fresh recruitment process. Moreover, the court also mandated that individuals who were appointed must reimburse their salary within six weeks.

It should be noted that nearly 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the 2016 State-Level Selection Test SLST for 24,640 vacant posts.

The HC bench also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct further investigation into the appointment process and submit a report within three months.