WBSSC Case: SC Grants Last Chance To Respondents To File Counter Against Bengal Govt's Plea

The top court issued procedural directions in the case which included a direction to those who challenged the recruitment in High Court to file their counter affidavits within 2 weeks.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing the petitions against the Calcutta High Court verdict which had set aside appointments of nearly 25,000 school teachers and staff made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

A bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra heard the plea filed by State of West Bengal, WB SSC and the affected candidates. The top court issued procedural directions in the case which included a direction to those who challenged the recruitment in the High Court to file their counter affidavits within 2 weeks.

The top court said that if the respondents failed to file the counter, in 2 weeks their right to file one will be exhausted. The top court issued these directions after it was told that the respondents have not yet filed a counter affidavit in the case.

The top court also noted that there are 5 main categories of stakeholders in the WBSSC case which includes West Bengal Government, WBSSC, Original Petitioners (Unqualified Candidates who challenged the WBSSC recruitment in High Court), persons whose appointments were cancelled by the High Court and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

On May 7, the Supreme Court partially stayed the Calcutta High Court order which cancelled nearly 25000 appointments made by West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) between 2016-2018.

The top court allowed the conditional interim protection from the Calcutta HC order to continue but ruled that salaries of the illegally appointed employees will have to be refunded as directed by the high court in case the alleged taint is proven.

The apex court however, allowed the CBI to continue its probe in the case. The court further noted that it appears that the tainted appointments can be segregated from untainted ones, and so it would be unwise to set aside the appointments in entirety. 

The Calcutta High Court had declared the entire panel of 2016 SSC recruitment, null and void. The High Court pronounced the judgement on petitions alleged irregularities in the selection of candidates in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided secondary and higher secondary schools through a 2016 recruitment process.

The state government challenged the high court order that nullified the appointment of all the 25,753 persons empanelled in 2016 for various categories of jobs at secondary and higher secondary schools in West Bengal.