School Jobs for cash scam: Calcutta High Court quashes appointment of 36,000 teachers, says it can smell "stinking rat"

The Calcutta High Court Friday cancelled the appointments of over 36,000 teachers across the State, who were appointed in 2016 without following the due procedure [Priyanka Naskar vs Union of India]. .Single-judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, said that he could smell "stinking rats" in the recruitments scam known as school jobs for cash scam. "The appointment of all 36,000 (thirty six thousand) (more or less) candidates who were untrained at the time of recruitment in 2016 recruitment process conducted by the Board in the post of primary teachers are cancelled," the judgment said. The judge refused to accept the State's arguments wherein it raised contentions on law points instead of countering the allegations of corruption. "However nice or however laudable those principles may be, this court as a court of justice will fail to deliver justice, knowing fully well that sense of justice is much above sense of law, if the writ application is thrown out on such nicities of law as this will mean that in the name of preserving the law the corruption would be protected which a constitutional court can never do keeping in mind the soul of our constitution and the constitutional conscience, I must say that in this recruitment scam stinking rats are being smelt," the Court said. The Court which was seized of matters related to illegal recruitment in schools in West Bengal, was told that in the recruitment process held in 2016, thousands of "untrained" candidates were appointed despite them scoring less in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) and other counts. The Court noted that to recruit such candidates who scored less, they were given extra marks or maximum marks in aptitude tests which were shown to be conducted only on paper. The judge noted that no selection committee was constituted for the purpose of selection of eligible candidates and instead it was done by one outside agency, a third party which was not at all a part of the Education Board."This is clear violation of Recruitment Rules. The Board has maintained total silence in this regard. From the gross illegality in the selection procedure in the recruitment exercise of 2016 conducted by the Board it is clear that the Board and its officials including its former President (Manik Bhattacharya), who is now in custody after arrest by Enforcement Directorate for transaction of huge money in the recruitment procedure, conducted the whole affair like affair of a local club," the Court observed. It, therefore, cancelled appointments of all the 36,000 candidates, who were untrained at the time of the recruitment process in 2016. .It further said that it has now gradually come to light by investigation of ED that jobs for primary school teachers were actually sold to some candidates who had the money to purchase the same by paying bribes. "A corruption of this magnitude was never known in the State of West Bengal. The former Education Minister, the former President of the Board and a number of middleman through whom the jobs were sold like a commodity are now behind the bars and the CBI and ED investigation is being continued now in full swing," the judge said. .Further, the bench refused to refer to any of the judgments cited by the State seeking to dismiss the petition filed against the 2016 recruitment of primary school teachers. It said that those judgments are not required to be mentioned at all in the factual situation of the case as those are "bright stars of the space much much above the ground realities.""The ground reality is wherein the unemployed youths live with tears in their eyes because this recruitment scam is a crime against the society and also a fraud where the Board and its former Chairman was well aware of the rules of recruitment but cared a fig and started a play to hoodwink all concerned. I will only say that fraud unravels everything," the judge underscored. .The Board was ordered to immediately arrange for a recruitment exercise for candidates, who were untrained at the time of recruitment (including candidates who have obtained training qualification in the meantime) within a period of 3 (three) months from date only for the candidates who participated in 2016 recruitment process, where both interview and aptitude test of all examinees shall be taken and the whole interview process has to be videographed carefully and preserved. .Advocates Tarunjyoti Tewari, Bikramjit Dutta and Aniruddha Tewari appeared for the Petitioners. Deputy Solicitor General Billwadal Bhattacharya and advocate Mary Datta represented the Union of India. Advocates Sirsanya Bandyopadhyay and Arka Kumar Nandy represented the State. .[Read Judgment]