In a significant reprieve for West Bengal’s education sector, the Supreme Court on Thursday permitted the continuation of services of those sacked school teachers whose appointments were found to be untainted in the controversial 2016 recruitment process carried out by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, made the exception while hearing the state government’s plea, noting that academic activities in several schools had suffered following the mass termination of teaching staff.
The apex court, however, denied any similar relief to non-teaching Group C and Group D employees, stating that those categories included a higher proportion of “tainted” candidates.
The top court directed the state government and the WBSSC to commence a fresh recruitment process for assistant teachers no later than 31 May and complete it by 31 December this year. The authorities have also been asked to file a compliance affidavit confirming the initiation of the process by the stipulated date.
The court said it was granting limited relief in order to ensure that students were not adversely affected. “The students undergoing studies should not suffer on account of the order passed by the court following the irregularities in the entire recruitment process in 2016,” the bench said.
On 3 April, the Supreme Court had upheld the Calcutta High Court’s ruling of 22 April 2024 that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and aided schools.
Calling the recruitment “vitiated and tainted,” the court ordered that those whose appointments were found to be illegal must return the “salaries/payments received”.
The ruling prompted protests across the state, with sacked teachers and political organisations alike expressing outrage. On 11 April, teachers who were part of the now-defunct Senior Secondary Commission (SSC) held a dharna outside the SSC office in Kolkata.
Around 26,000 teachers were affected by the apex court verdict, leading to public demonstrations against the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.
Earlier, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M), also staged protests, criticising the government for jeopardising the careers of thousands.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing the issue on 7 April, accused her political opponents of engineering a ploy to cripple the education system.
“There is a conspiracy going on to destroy the education system,” she said, adding, “As long as I am alive, I am not going to let any deserving person lose their job.”
The Supreme Court’s interim relief offers temporary respite to hundreds of affected teachers, though the broader legal battle and political storm over the WBSSC scam continues.
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