Supreme Court Upholds Calcutta HC Order On Termination Of Non-Teaching Staff In Bengal Schools

The Supreme Court refused to put a hold on the Calcutta High Court's decision to terminate 1,911 non-teaching staff

SC upholds Calcutta HC order on termination of non-teaching staff in Bengal schools.

Source : Getty

Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to put a hold on the Calcutta High Court's decision to terminate 1,911 non-teaching staff who were illegally hired by state-run schools in West Bengal. However, it instructed the West Bengal School Service Commission  or WBSSC) not to fill the vacant positions until further notice.

Recently, Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered for the termination of the 1,911 non-teaching staff in Group-D category. Along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s finding, the WBSSC had submitted that these candidates were recruited illegally and their optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets were tampered with to facilitate their unethical appointment.

These aggrieved employees then approached Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justices Subrata Talukdar and Supratim Bhattacharya against the single-judge bench order.

However, the division bench of Justice Talukdar and Justice Bhattacharya had put an interim stay on a particular portion of the single- judge bench order that directed these 1,911 non-teaching staff to return the salary they have received already. The division bench did not put any stay on the main order of the single-judge bench regarding termination of services.

The division bench was also silent on that portion of the order by the single-judge bench that barred the illegally appointed candidates from appearing for any future examination for any state government job.

Failing to get a stay from the Calcutta High Court's division bench, the non-teaching staff then approached the Supreme Court only to be disappointed.

About West Bengal School Service Commission

The West Bengal Staff Selection Commission (WBSSC) is responsible for recruiting candidates for various departments and ministries in the state of West Bengal. The commission is responsible for categorizing the available positions into Group A and Group B, and conducting recruitment examinations accordingly. Commission conducts exam every year across the state.

(With Inputs From IANS)