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New Delhi: The Calcutta High Court's division bench on Wednesday set aside an order of a single bench that had terminated the appointments of 32,000 primary teachers in the cash-for-jobs scam case in West Bengal.
On May 12, 2023, then Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay's single bench terminated the appointments of 32,000 primary teachers in the scam case. The new order on Wednesday was passed by a division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra. The teachers were recruited in 2014 through the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET).
The bench said it has set aside the single bench order as there are still no proven irregularities in all the recruitments. It added that if employment is terminated after nine years of service, it would have a great adverse impact on the primary teachers in question and their families.
The HC further said that the CBI, which probed the scam case, had initially identified 264 irregular appointments, and the recruitment of another 96 teachers came under its scanner. However, the court declined to cancel the entire selection process based on those.
The court said, "There must have been a possibility of systemic malice; assessment of data doesn't point to the same. A group of unsuccessful candidates cannot be allowed to damage the entire system. A job taken away after 9 years of service would cause insurmountable difficulty."
It said in conclusion, "There is no allegation that students who paid money got more marks. A group of unsuccessful candidates should not be allowed to affect the entire system when it cannot be ruled out that untainted teachers may suffer great ignominy and stigma. Service cannot also be terminated on the basis of an ongoing criminal proceeding."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has welcomed the Calcutta High Court verdict and said, "We respect the judicial process. I am happy that our brothers and sisters have got their jobs back."
