The Supreme Court, on Monday, intervened to halt the Calcutta High Court’s order instructing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the alleged involvement of West Bengal government officials in a teacher recruitment scandal. The stay order comes as a relief to the Mamata Banerjee-led administration, which was facing mounting pressure following the high court’s decision.
During the hearing of a petition filed by the state government challenging the high court’s ruling, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra issued the stay order. The bench explicitly stated its decision to suspend the direction for the CBI to conduct further investigations against state officials implicated in the controversy.
The state government’s appeal to the Supreme Court underscored its objections to the high court’s decision to nullify the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff recruited by the School Service Commission (SSC) for state-run and state-aided schools. Describing the high court’s move as “arbitrary,” the appeal argued that the cancellation of appointments had immediate and adverse consequences, disrupting the education system without allowing sufficient time for the government to address the situation.
“The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill,” read the petition submitted by the Bengal government.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to initiate further investigations into the alleged complicity of government officials in approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illicit appointments. Additionally, the high court specified that if deemed necessary, the CBI should undertake custodial interrogation of individuals implicated in the matter.
The Supreme Court’s intervention in suspending the CBI probe temporarily marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing legal battle surrounding the contentious teacher recruitment scandal. As the case unfolds, it is expected to continue generating considerable debate and scrutiny, especially given its implications for the integrity of the education system in West Bengal.
