The Calcutta High Court on Monday exempted Soma Das, a cancer patient, from her appointment being cancelled out of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff, made through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016, on humanitarian grounds.
A Division Bench of the HC cancelled the illegal appointments of such a huge number of candidates. The court also ordered fresh recruitment against the posts within 15 days.
The Division Bench by upholding previous order of the Single Bench of former judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay in 2022, directed to continue the service of Soma considering her health condition.
Justice Gangopadhyay had felt that Soma’s medical expenses were huge expenses, which she would not be able to bear if she did not have the judge.
Soma, despite her illness, had been fighting for her cause along with others who were denied jobs when many others who didn’t even qualify Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the WBSSC, were appointed as teachers for Classes IX and X in state government-sponsored and aided schools.
While reacting to the Division Bench’s verdict, she told the media today, “I don’t know whether I have won or lost. Our platform’s prolonged fight is for the cause of all the eligible candidates who were denied jobs and not for any individual.”
“Today’s directive proved that there was large-scale corruption in the recruitment process. We are eligible candidates. Therefore, how can I say that the legal process is complete till all eligible candidates get jobs?” she said.
“I will always be there with the eligible candidates who are still struggling to get appointments. I participated in the dharna of our eligible candidates in Kolkata as one of the contenders qualified in TET, not as a cancer patient,” she added.