"Systemic Fraud.....": Supreme Court Raises Alarm Over the Alleged West Bengal Recruitment Scam

The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal a "systemic fraud" and raised concerns about the state's failure to maintain digitized records relating to the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, leading the bench, questioned the West Bengal government's appeal against the Calcutta High Court's April 22 order to annul these appointments.

"The public job is so scarce...Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today and are looked at for social mobility. What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this?" stated the Apex Court.

During the hearing, the bench pressed the state government's lawyers on the absence of maintained data, emphasizing the duty to uphold records digitally. Justice Chandrachud remarked, "Either you have the data or you do not have it.... You were duty-bound to maintain the documents in digitized form."

The state government's challenge against the High Court's decision prompted tough scrutiny from the bench. The Chief Justice questioned the creation of supernumerary posts and the hiring of waitlisted candidates amid ongoing legal challenges to the selection process itself.

Senior advocates representing the state government and the school service commission argued against the High Court's jurisdiction to cancel the appointments, highlighting conflicts with Supreme Court precedents. However, concerns were raised about the destruction of OMR sheets and scanned answer copies, prompting queries about security breaches and data management protocols.

The court also pondered whether the commission had wrongly assured RTI applicants of possessing data, emphasizing the ramifications of such systemic failures in maintaining public trust. Senior advocates expressed concerns about the immediate termination of teaching staff and urged for careful consideration of the impact on the education system.

While the Supreme Court paused the High Court order for a CBI investigation, it sought clarity on segregating valid and invalid appointments based on available evidence. The state government argued against the "arbitrary" cancellation of appointments, emphasizing the disruption to the education system and the High Court's findings on constitutional violations.

In its judgment, the High Court had cited violations of constitutional articles and expressed concerns about retaining appointees selected through a "dubious process." The court acknowledged the plea for safeguarding legally obtained appointments but justified its decision as necessary for upholding the public interest.