Calcutta HC Cracks Down On 2016 SSC Scam
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Calcutta Excessive Courtroom bars all tainted candidates from the 2016 SSC panel from reapplying in recent faculty job recruitment. The courtroom upheld SC’s ruling on widespread fraud within the scam-tainted choice course of.
Kolkata: On July 7, the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom, handed a serious order in reference to the continuing SSC recruitment rip-off in West Bengal. The courtroom directed the Faculty Service Fee (SSC) to hold out a recent recruitment course of for each educating and non-teaching positions.
Nonetheless, the courtroom made it clear that candidates who had been earlier discovered to be “undeserving” and “tainted” in the course of the investigation into the notorious cash-for-jobs rip-off is not going to be allowed to use once more.
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Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya rejected the arguments offered by SSC’s counsel and Trinamool Congress MP, Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who mentioned that the Supreme Courtroom had not particularly talked about that tainted candidates ought to be excluded from the brand new recruitment.
The choose firmly dominated that any applicant from the controversial 2016 panel who was discovered to have secured a job utilizing unlawful strategies wouldn’t be allowed to take part within the new recruitment drive.
The Excessive Courtroom clarified that anybody who used unfair means to get jobs in government-run and government-aided faculties in the course of the 2016 recruitment course of wouldn’t be thought-about eligible this time. These candidates, already recognized as tainted, have misplaced their proper to use.
Earlier in April, the Supreme Courtroom of India had upheld a call of the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom which cancelled the roles of 25,753 educating and non-teaching employees members who had been appointed by the 2016 recruitment course of.
The apex courtroom described your complete course of as fully invalid. The 2-judge bench consisting of then Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice Sanjay Kumar, mentioned:
“In our opinion, this case is the place your complete choice course of has been vitiated. Manipulation and fraud on a big scale, coupled with the intention to cowl up have tainted the choice course of past restore.”
The bench added that your complete recruitment was full of severe wrongdoing, and there was no purpose to cease the Excessive Courtroom’s verdict from being enforced.
“The legibility and credibility of the choice process are denuded. We discover no purpose to intrude within the HC verdict, for the reason that appointments are by fraud and we see no purpose to intrude.”
In robust phrases relating to the contaminated candidates, the Supreme Courtroom had mentioned:
“For candidates who’ve been particularly discovered to be tainted, their complete choice course of has been rightly declared null and void resulting from egregious violations and illegalities which violate Article 14 and 16 of the Structure. As such the appointment of those candidates is cancelled.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier introduced {that a} complete of 44,203 vacant posts could be crammed up by a recent recruitment course of.
The Supreme Courtroom had directed that this new recruitment be accomplished by December 31, 2025.
After this announcement, the SSC launched new ads for recruitment, following which many instances had been filed within the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom difficult numerous features of the method.
Throughout the listening to, advocate Bikash Bhattacharya, who can also be a Rajya Sabha MP from the CPM, and advocate Anindya Mitra, representing deserving candidates, identified that the Supreme Courtroom had clearly acknowledged tainted candidates should not be allowed within the recruitment course of.
They argued that the SSC failed to elucidate correctly who’s eligible to participate within the exams, which they mentioned goes in opposition to the SC’s directions.
“The SSC didn’t make clear who’re certified to look for the exams, which was in violation of the SC’s order. If SSC desires to award those that purchased their jobs they’ll achieve this,” Mitra mentioned in courtroom.
In a key a part of his earlier ruling, then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, additionally acknowledged:
“The variety of established tainted candidates is considerably excessive in quantity.”
He additionally made it clear that the dismissed Group-C and Group-D employees couldn’t be allowed to proceed of their present positions.
Background of the Case
The case traces again to the 2016 State Degree Choice Check (SLST) performed by the West Bengal Faculty Service Fee (SSC) for recruitment of educating and non-teaching employees in government-run and government-aided faculties.
After the recruitment course of was accomplished, a number of complaints started surfacing, alleging large-scale irregularities, bribery, and favoritism within the appointment of 1000’s of candidates.
Whistleblowers and aggrieved candidates alleged that jobs had been bought in alternate for cash and that many “undeserving” people had been appointed by manipulating marks, reply sheets, and benefit lists.
These allegations led to a number of public curiosity litigations being filed within the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom demanding an investigation.
The courtroom later ordered a probe, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was introduced in. Throughout the investigation, it was found that widespread corruption had taken place within the recruitment course of, involving senior officers, politicians, and middlemen.
A number of high-profile arrests had been made, together with that of former Schooling Minister Partha Chatterjee.
In response, the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom cancelled the appointments of 25,753 candidates, stating that your complete course of had been compromised.
The order affected each Group-C and Group-D employees, in addition to assistant academics appointed by the contaminated panel.
The matter reached the Supreme Courtroom of India, which, in April 2024, upheld the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom’s ruling. The apex courtroom confirmed that the recruitment was fraudulent and violated constitutional ideas of equality and equity below Articles 14 and 16.
It held that your complete recruitment course of was “vitiated” resulting from “manipulation and fraud on a big scale”.
Following this, the West Bengal authorities introduced a recent recruitment drive to fill 44,203 vacancies, which the Supreme Courtroom ordered should be accomplished earlier than December 31, 2025.
Nonetheless, recent authorized challenges had been filed, particularly regarding whether or not the dismissed (tainted) candidates might reapply.
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