Calcutta HC Declares Teachers Recruitment Null & Void, 26000 Teachers lose jobs

The Calcutta High Court (HC) declared all appointments null and void on Monday, April 22nd 2024, in the selection of approximately 26000 teachers and non-teaching staff for West Bengal (WB) government sponsored and aided secondary & higher secondary schools through a 2016 recruitment process. The court ordered the School Service Commission (SSC) to conduct fresh recruitments. 

It also mandated that those recruited illegally must return their salary within six weeks.

All appointments by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9-12, as well as group-C and D staffers through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) where irregularities were found, have also been declared null and void. 

The Calcutta HC instructed the administration to take action on fresh appointments within the next 15 days. The court made an exception in the case of Soma Das, a cancer victim, ruling that Das’ job would remain safe.

The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) teacher recruitment scam came to light after the arrest of WB BJP leader Partha Chatterjee, a former Trinamool Congress leader who served as the education minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet until his arrest on July 23rd 2022. 

Earlier, on February 16th 2024, a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted raids on close associates of Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata. Chatterjee was arrested after Rs 21 crore in cash and jewelry worth above Rs 1 crore was recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.