WB SSC Scam : Supreme Court Allows Untainted Class 9-12 Teachers To Continue Till Fresh Appointments; Sets Dec 31 Deadline

The Supreme Court on Thursday (April 17) allowed the Assistant Teachers of Classes 9 to 12 in West Bengal, whose appointments were cancelled due to the irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process but were specifically found to be untainted, till fresh appointments are made to the posts.The consideration that students should not suffer prompted the Court to pass this order. At the same time, the Court declined to grant such relief to Group C and Group D employees, whose appointments were cancelled, as the number of tainted candidates in the said classes is substantially high.However, this order is subject to the condition that the State of West Bengal and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) complete the fresh recruitment process for the posts of Assistant Teachers of Classes 9 & 10, and 11 & 12 by December 31, 2025.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar directed the State and the SSC to publish the advertisements for the fresh recruitment process by May 31, 2025.The Court further directed that the exams and the entire recruitment process should be completed by December 31, 2025. The State and the SSC were directed to file an affidavit before May 31, 2025, producing the advertisement. If there is a default, the present order will get vacated, the Court warned.The Court passed the order in a Miscellaneous Application filed in the State of West Bengal vs Baishakhi Bhattacharyya case, where the Supreme Court recently upheld the cancellations of the 2016 appointments due to large-scale fraud and manipulation.The application prayed as follows : Permit the appointees not found to be tainted to continue in service till the end of the Academic Year or until the process of fresh appointments to such posts is concluded, whichever is earlier. pass such further or other orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit, just and necessary.Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Rakesh Dwivedi appeared for the State Government. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta appeared for the SSC.On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Calcutta High Court, which invalidated nearly 25000 teaching and non-teaching staff appointments made by the West Bengal School Selection Commission (SSC) in 2016.The Court approved the finding of the High Court that the selection process was vitiated by fraud and was tainted beyond repair. The Court upheld the High Court's judgment cancelling the appointments en-block.Case Details : THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL vs. BAISHAKHI BHATTACHARYYA (CHATTERJEE) SLP(C) No. 009586 - / 2024 and connected mattersClick here to read the order

WB SSC Scam : Supreme Court Allows Untainted Class 9-12 Teachers To Continue Till Fresh Appointments; Sets Dec 31 Deadline

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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