"No concrete evidence that jobs were bought": WB Education Board to Calcutta HC in SSC job case

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday conducted a hearing concerning the cancellation of 32,000 primary teacher appointments in West Bengal. The case relates to the recruitment process carried out in 2016, which followed the 2014 Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) where approximately 1.25 lakh candidates qualified. A total of 42,949 candidates were appointed in that recruitment cycle.

During the hearing, the West Bengal Board of Primary Education stated that no direct evidence was found to support allegations of corruption or jobs being given in exchange for money. The Board emphasized that the accusations are based only on assumptions and that it is unjust to question the entire recruitment process on the basis of statements from a few individuals. It clarified that the recruitment was conducted according to education rules, although it did not include an aptitude test.

The state government informed the court that the original petitions did not seek cancellation of the appointments but requested that untrained candidates who were appointed should also be given an opportunity. The division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Ritabrata Kumar Mitra heard submissions from both sides and postponed further proceedings until after the summer vacation.

This matter originated from a May 2023 order by then Justice Abhijit Ganguly, who cancelled the appointments of 32,000 teachers citing irregularities in the recruitment process. Despite the cancellation, the order permitted the affected teachers to continue working in schools temporarily and mandated that the state initiate a fresh recruitment process within three months.

Following this decision, the Primary Education Board and the affected teachers filed appeals, resulting in an interim stay on the cancellation. The Supreme Court later remanded the case back to the High Court for reconsideration. The ongoing litigation continues to address the legality and fairness of the 2016 recruitment process and its impact on the appointed candidates.