NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Calcutta high court decision to cancel the recruitment of 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff to government schools, saying the entire process is tainted and vitiated.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the entire selection process for recruitment of teachers was “vitiated and tainted” because of large-scale and pervasive manipulations and the subsequent attempts to cover-up the manipulations.
“We have gone through the facts. Regarding the findings of this case, the entire selection process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud, and credibility and legitimacy are denuded. No reason to interfere. Tainted candidates must be terminated and appointments were resultant of cheating and thus fraud,” the Court said in its judgment.
However, the apex court clarified that those recruited earlier need not return the salaries they received during their employment.
The court also clarified that those candidates who are not tainted and were working in other departments of the government prior to their selection as teachers, which is now cancelled, would be entitled to resume their previous employment with the department.
The court also ordered a fresh selection process for the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff to government and government aided schools in West Bengal.
