The Supreme Court on Tuesday partially stayed the Calcutta HC order cancelling the appointment of over 25,000 assistant teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal state run schools, subject to the final outcome of the hearing posted for July 16, 2024.

Extending its November 9, 2023 interim order protecting the services of the teaching and the non-teaching staff, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, however, said that the CBI would continue with its investigation into the scam but will not take any coercive steps or actions against candidates or state govt officials.

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The top court also said that the teaching and the non-teaching staff whose appointment has been found to be illegal, will refund their salaries between now and the final outcome of the petitions challenging the April 22, 2024, Calcutta High Court order.

In the course of the hearing, the bench described the recruitment scam as a “systemic fraud.” The bench noted that the West Bengal government has no data to prove the sanctity of these tests.

In the hearing that lasted for the entire day, the bench observed, “The public job is so scarce…. Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today and are looked at for social mobility. What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this?”

All these appointments were made in pursuance to the 2016 State-level test. Results were declared on March 3, 2018 and the merit list came on August 28, 2018. The actual joining took place in January-February 2019.

The order said that the court was of the view that an expeditious disposal of the matter will be in the interest of Justice, we continue the ad interim protection given, subject to the express stipulation that any person found to have been appointed illegally and continued as consequence of the present order shall refund the salary.

The West Bengal government on April 24, had moved the top court against the High Court’s order invalidating and cancelling the appointment of 25,753 teachers and the non-teaching staff belonging to Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ categories made by the State’s School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run schools. Besides the plea by the West Bengal government, there were other petitions challenging the High Court order.