Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Single Bench Order Cancelling 32000 Teachers' Appointments In Recruitment Scam Case

The Calcutta High Court has set aside a single bench order which cancelled the appointment of around 32000 primary teachers in the cash-for-jobs TET-Recruitment scam case.

A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed the order, setting aside a 2023 decision by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, presently a BJP Lok Sabha member. 

"There must have been a possibility of systemic malice, assessment of data doesn't point to the same… A group of unsuccessful candidates cannot be allowed to damage the entire system. A job taken away after 9 years of service would cause insurmountable difficulty," the bench held.

The single judge had cancelled the appointments because no aptitude test had been conducted for the candidates, an outside agency had been contracted to carry out the process, and the board's officials conducted affairs by selling jobs to candidates.

In ruling out such reasoning, it was held, "Court is not expected to indulge in roving inquiry, to rule out all explanations. There is a difference between a proven case of mass cheating and unproven charges of corruption. When services are terminated on grounds of aiding corruption, the court must satisfy itself of its stand. Irregularities pertain to TET 2014."

"While deciding the issue urged, the court went beyond the pleadings and cancelled the appointments based on the fact that no aptitude test was held. For cancellation of the entire exam, there must be a finding on systemic malice as borne out by the evidence on record. That is not the case. Even no complaint exists regarding the effectiveness of the candidates who were appointed as teachers," the bench further noted.

"There is no allegation that students who paid money got more marks… a group of unsuccessful candidates should not be allowed to affect the entire system when it cannot be ruled out that untainted teachers may suffer great ignominy and stigma. Service cannot also be terminated on the basis of an ongoing criminal proceeding,” it concluded, while setting aside the single bench's order.

Background

Justice Gangopadhyay's initial decision had then been challenged before a division bench led by current Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice, Justice Soumen Sen. However, due to personal reasons, Justice Sen recused from hearing the matter and the same was placed before the present bench. 

The controversy dates back to 2014, when, based on the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), 42,500 primary teachers were recruited. Some candidates appearing for the TET filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court alleging massive irregularities in the recruitment process involving payment of cash for securing jobs.

After the recusal of Justice Soumen Sen from hearing the appeal against the single bench, the matter had been placed before the Chief Justice for reassignment. Accordingly, the matter was placed before the present division bench, which commenced its hearing in April 2025.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had upheld an order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court cancelling WBSSC's 2016 recruitment panel of over 25,000 school jobs, including teaching as well as non-teaching staff in different state-run schools.

Case No: MAT/873/2023

Case: THE WEST BENGAL BOARD PRIMARY EDUCATION AND ANR VS PRIYANKA NASKAR AND ORS