A single-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, directed the CBI to take the help of any specialised agency to recover the data regarding the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets used in the written examination for the recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools in West Bengal.
During a hearing on a case related to massive irregularities and corruption in the recruitment of primary teachers in 2014, the single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha observed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can consult and take help of experts from anywhere in the world, including private entities with expertise in Information Technology sector to retrieve the related data.
Justice Mantha also directed that the entire cost for bearing the assistance of expert agencies should be borne by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).
Justice Mantha also observed that recovering the data on the OMR sheets was extremely important considering the roots of the corruption relating to the primary teachers’ recruitment were hidden there.
On July 2, Justice Mantha directed CBI to submit the original hard disc where the digitized copies of the OMR sheets used in the written examinations for primary teachers’ recruitment had been stored.
However, on Friday, the CBI counsel informed the court that their central agency officials were not in a position to submit the same to the court. Thereafter, Justice Mantha directed the agency to take the help of expert agencies.
Earlier on Tuesday, Justice Mantha also said that in case the hard disc had been destroyed that matter should be also brought under the purview of the investigation, while observing that even if the hard disc had been destroyed, then the original data might have remained stored at the server of WBBPE.